as in to burn
to be on fire especially brightly
anthracite, which is naturally hard, combusts more cleanly than bituminous coal
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of combust
Less than a dozen blocks away from my home and within a mile of downtown Oakland, a multi-ton pile of scrap metal threatens to spontaneously combust under the hot sun.
—
Brian Beveridge, Mercury News, 10 Sep. 2025
When, last year, Oasis announced a reunion tour after 15 years apart, the internet promptly combusted.
—Conçetta Ciarlo, Vogue, 3 Sep. 2025
Occasionally, a propane or gas tank will slip through the metals screening process causing the tanks to combust when passing through the shredder.
—Quinlan Bentley, The Enquirer, 2 July 2025
The majority of the trucks were 25 years old or more, often lacked proper heating and cooling and in some cases, would spontaneously combust in neighborhoods as workers operated the aging vehicles.
—Tracy J. Wholf
june 24, CBS News, 24 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for combust
Brian Beveridge, Mercury News, 10 Sep. 2025
When, last year, Oasis announced a reunion tour after 15 years apart, the internet promptly combusted.
—Conçetta Ciarlo, Vogue, 3 Sep. 2025
Occasionally, a propane or gas tank will slip through the metals screening process causing the tanks to combust when passing through the shredder.
—Quinlan Bentley, The Enquirer, 2 July 2025
The majority of the trucks were 25 years old or more, often lacked proper heating and cooling and in some cases, would spontaneously combust in neighborhoods as workers operated the aging vehicles.
—Tracy J. Wholf
june 24, CBS News, 24 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for combust
Recent Examples of Synonyms for combust
Verb
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Walk out of a play’s shadows back into the clear light of day without a there to take with you, and even a burning cauldron will become little more than a brief candle.—
Sara Holdren,
Vulture,
10 Nov. 2025
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Veg/cm/61 Fire has been burning on private land.—
CA WILDFIRE BOT,
Sacbee.com,
10 Nov. 2025
Verb
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The 20th Century and Disney pic is coming well ahead of expectations, thanks to glowing reviews and equally growing audience reaction.—
Pamela McClintock,
HollywoodReporter,
8 Nov. 2025
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At that point, out of the vast and silent ether, messages will come glowing into your inbox one after another.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
7 Nov. 2025
Verb
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In the opening of this 1957 bargain-bin drive-in picture, a mid-century WASP patriarch in the Man in the Gray Flannel Suit mold (Whit Bissell) plucks the body of a student athlete (Gary Conway) from a flaming bus crash.—
Katie Rife,
Vulture,
9 Nov. 2025
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That's especially true in the Southeast, where there’s no shortage of uniquely thrilling opening acts from Chief Osceola and his flaming spear at Florida State to the eagle’s pre-game lap around Jordan Hare Stadium at Auburn.—
Elizabeth Hutchison Hicklin,
Southern Living,
8 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Combust.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/combust. Accessed 11 Nov. 2025.
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