smoulder
Americanverb (used without object)
verb
-
to burn slowly without flame, usually emitting smoke
-
(esp of anger, etc) to exist in a suppressed or half-suppressed state
-
to have strong repressed or half repressed feelings, esp anger
noun
-
dense smoke, as from a smouldering fire
-
a smouldering fire
Other Word Forms
- unsmouldering adjective
- unsmoulderingly adverb
Etymology
Origin of smoulder
C14: from smolder (n), of obscure origin
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Prosecutors posted images of the smouldering carriage on social media, which regional emergency services later said had been extinguished.
From Barron's
He says if the foam had been fire retardant it would have smouldered, not burned.
From BBC
They are slightly better at detecting the large smoke particles created by slow, smouldering fires.
From BBC
AFP journalists joined a military-organised press tour through the smouldering wreckage of two former labs south of the town of Hsipaw in northeastern Shan state.
From Barron's
That brief explanation understandably underplays the aching sadness that smoulders under the surface of his songs.
From BBC
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
