as in torch
a person who deliberately and unlawfully sets fire to a building or other property
they finally caught the arsonist, but only after he'd set fire to four barns
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Recent Examples of arsonist
Indeed, Knight says the Guinness family claims that the Guinness brewery feared attacks by Fenians and arsonists before Benjamin Guinness’s death.
—
Olivia B. Waxman, Time, 25 Sep. 2025
His sudden millions have absolutely nothing to do with her career as a leading national racial arsonist.
—Howie Carr, Boston Herald, 18 Sep. 2025
Days later, arsonists returned to burn what was left of Chinatown.
—Beth Lew-Williams, New Yorker, 13 Sep. 2025
Examples of attacks include everything from graffiti and destruction of statues to arsonists destroying entire churches and assailants attacking churchgoers with deadly weapons.
—Robert Schmad, The Washington Examiner, 30 Aug. 2025
An arsonist set a fire that damaged the front of the store and some of its interior, according to The Times of Israel.
—Rachel Wolf, FOXNews.com, 15 Aug. 2025
Wildfires caused by arsonists or thunderstorms and fanned by a heatwave and strong winds wreaked destruction across southern Europe on Wednesday, burning homes and forcing thousands of residents and tourists to flee.
—USA Today, 14 Aug. 2025
Olivia B. Waxman, Time, 25 Sep. 2025
His sudden millions have absolutely nothing to do with her career as a leading national racial arsonist.
—Howie Carr, Boston Herald, 18 Sep. 2025
Days later, arsonists returned to burn what was left of Chinatown.
—Beth Lew-Williams, New Yorker, 13 Sep. 2025
Examples of attacks include everything from graffiti and destruction of statues to arsonists destroying entire churches and assailants attacking churchgoers with deadly weapons.
—Robert Schmad, The Washington Examiner, 30 Aug. 2025
An arsonist set a fire that damaged the front of the store and some of its interior, according to The Times of Israel.
—Rachel Wolf, FOXNews.com, 15 Aug. 2025
Wildfires caused by arsonists or thunderstorms and fanned by a heatwave and strong winds wreaked destruction across southern Europe on Wednesday, burning homes and forcing thousands of residents and tourists to flee.
—USA Today, 14 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for arsonist
torch
Noun
-
The new era of Survivor goes hard and fast, and the best way to stave off Jeff Probst’s itchy torch snuffer?—
Nick Caruso,
TVLine,
25 Sep. 2025
-
And for all the talk from the tribe about how much everybody loved each other, there were no hugs or goodbyes when Nicole’s torch was snuffed, just awkward silence — from both her and everybody else.—
Dalton Ross,
Entertainment Weekly,
25 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Arsonist.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/arsonist. Accessed 2 Oct. 2025.
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