incendiary
Americanadjective
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used or adapted for setting property on fire.
incendiary bombs.
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of or relating to the criminal setting on fire of property.
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tending to arouse strife, sedition, etc.; inflammatory.
incendiary speeches.
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tending to inflame the senses.
an incendiary extravaganza of music and dance.
noun
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incendiaries
plural
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a person who deliberately sets fire to buildings or other property, as an arsonist.
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Military. a shell, bomb, or grenade containing napalm, thermite, or some other substance that burns with an intense heat.
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a person who stirs up strife, sedition, etc.; an agitator.
adjective
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of or relating to the illegal burning of property, goods, etc
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tending to create strife, violence, etc; inflammatory
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(of a substance) capable of catching fire, causing fires, or burning readily
noun
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a person who illegally sets fire to property, goods, etc; arsonist
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(esp formerly) a person who stirs up civil strife, violence, etc, for political reasons; agitator
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Also called: incendiary bomb. a bomb that is designed to start fires
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an incendiary substance, such as phosphorus
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of incendiary
1600–10; < Latin incendiārius, equivalent to incendi ( um ) a fire ( incend ( ere ) to kindle ( in- in- 2 + -cendere, transitive v. from base of candēre to shine, be hot; see candent, candid, candor) + -ium -ium ) + -ārius -ary
Explanation
An incendiary device is a bomb. An incendiary statement is, "That idea is absolute garbage." Both are likely to produce an explosion of one kind or another. Incendiary means more than flammable. It means explosive, in both a literal and figurative way. If you're a radical who changes the world by exciting people and makes as many enemies as followers, you're an incendiary figure. The speeches you give that rile people up are incendiary. The fires you set are also incendiary, and by setting them you are also likely to be called an incendiary — someone who burns things, more commonly known as an arsonist.
Vocabulary lists containing incendiary
Essential Academic Vocabulary for High School Students, List 3
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ACT Vocabulary List
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The Things They Carried
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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.
See Examples For:
It relates to what Farage described as a "lit incendiary device" being pushed through his letterbox in April 2025, the BBC understands.
From BBC ● Aug. 10, 2026
But it notes that the artist rejects that incendiary political reading.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 2, 2026
The defense said investigators “found no accelerants, they found no incendiary devices that could be linked to my client.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 25, 2026
But his incendiary side always comes back, and when his behavior becomes increasingly troubling, his parents reach their limit.
From Salon ● May 25, 2026
They were headed for Little Rock to add to the incendiary feelings in our town.
From "Warriors Don't Cry: A Searing Memoir of the Battle to Integrate Little Rock's Central High" by Melba Pattillo Beals
SAN ANTONIO, Texas—Erika Kirk was standing center stage in a hotel ballroom, explaining the difference between earthly pleasures and heavenly joy, when a heckler interrupted her remarks to shout incendiaries at her.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 11, 2026
“However imperfect the evidence, there is too much of it to ignore the apparent fact that incendiaries deliberately ignited the great fire.”
From Washington Post ● Mar. 15, 2023
It was July 4, 1907, and the instigators were as striking as the incendiaries.
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 18, 2021
"The sight of these incendiaries coming down, it was incredible, because we were looking at Townhill, and Townhill was looking across at us," she said.
From BBC ● Feb. 19, 2021
The expertise at distillation that medieval Islamic alchemists developed to produce alcohols and perfumes also let them distill petroleum into fractions, some of which proved to be even more powerful incendiaries.
From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
