fan the flames
IdiomsExample Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
While urging restraint, Cepeda called on his rival not to fan the flames.
From Barron's ● Jun. 22, 2026
Others worry capping withdrawals will upset investors and fan the flames, so they paid out as much as 15%.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 27, 2026
It prompted the president of the National Electoral Council, Ana Paola Hall, to warn all parties "not to fan the flames of confrontation or violence".
From BBC ● Nov. 30, 2025
If such a tragedy were to occur, it would just escalate matters and fan the flames of militancy, expand the protest movement, and create more legitimacy problems for both the police and university administrators.
From Salon ● May 14, 2024
He knew it would just fan the flames.
From "X: A Novel" by Ilyasah Shabazz
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.
