arson

noun

ar·​son ˈär-sᵊn How to pronounce arson (audio)
: the willful or malicious burning of property (such as a building) especially with criminal or fraudulent intent
Arson was determined to be the cause of the fire.
arsonist noun
arsonous adjective

Examples of arson in a Sentence

The cause of the fire has not yet been determined, but investigators suspect arson. The town has suffered a rash of arson attacks. The town has suffered a rash of arsons.
Recent Examples on the Web Seymour is one of three suspects, who were all teenagers at the time of the fire, in an arson attack that killed Djibril Diol, his wife Adja, their 2-year-old daughter, Diol’s sister Hassan and her infant daughter in their Denver home, the outlets reported, citing police. Liam Quinn, Peoplemag, 18 Mar. 2024 Production is resuming at the German Tesla factory just shy of a week after an arson attack on a nearby electricity transmission tower cut off its power. Morgan Haefner, Quartz, 13 Mar. 2024 He was ultimately charged in state court with second-degree felony arson and second-degree felony obstructing justice in relation to this fire, the Nov. 2 news release from the Salt Lake County district attorney said. Julia Marnin, Sacramento Bee, 4 Mar. 2024 Dorsey Bryan Hardeman, 75, is accused of felony-level burglary and arson, according to FOX 7 Austin. Andrea Vacchiano, Fox News, 4 Mar. 2024 He was taken to San Diego Central Jail and booked on suspicion of six counts of arson and a parole violation. Caleb Lunetta, San Diego Union-Tribune, 28 Feb. 2024 Phillip Jones was wanted on suspicion of arson, burglary and vehicle theft, according to police. Jose R. Gonzalez, The Arizona Republic, 23 Feb. 2024 According to the Courier Journal, the sentence was imposed by Circuit Judge John Atkins as a recommendation from the jury, who found Martin guilty of three counts of murder, as well as multiple counts of arson, burglary and tampering with evidence. Marina Johnson, The Courier-Journal, 23 Feb. 2024 The share price has fallen 6.5% since last Monday’s close, the day before the arson attack. Olesya Dmitracova, CNN, 12 Mar. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'arson.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Anglo-French arsun, arson, arsoun "fire, willful setting of a destructive fire, burn on the skin, branding," going back to Gallo-Romance *ārsiōn-, ārsiō, from Latin ārdēre (perfect and supine stem ārs-) "to catch fire, burn, blaze" + -tiōn-, -tiō, suffix of verbal action — more at ardent

Note: Outside of Anglo-French, arsun, arson (with a by-form arsion) is sparsely attested in Old and Middle French. Französisches etymologisches Wörterbuch notes that medieval attestations and later survivals are markedly regional (west and southwest France, including Normandy and Francophone Brittany). — The normal suffix of verbal action in later classical Latin and Late Latin was -tiōn-, -tiō, added to the verbal base (competing with the u-stem suffix -tus more common in earlier Latin), with the exception of a small number of formations with -iōn-, -iō (see condition entry 1, legion entry 1, region). Because the phonetic stem changes conditioned by the verbal adjective/past participle suffix -tus (Indo-European *-tos) are identical to those conditioned by -tiōn-, -tiō, new formations with this suffix in post-classical Latin and proto-Romance copy the morphophonemic alterations of the verbal adjective. This is evident in *ārsiō, formed from ārdēre. Note that the perfect ārsī and presumed (?) supine ārsum are most likely themselves analogical forms based on second-conjugation verbs such as mansī, mansum (from manēre "to wait, remain"), given that ārdēre (from āridus, ārdus "dry") cannot be of great antiquity in Latin.

First Known Use

circa 1680, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of arson was circa 1680

Dictionary Entries Near arson

Cite this Entry

“Arson.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/arson. Accessed 29 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

arson

noun
ar·​son ˈär-sᵊn How to pronounce arson (audio)
: the illegal burning of a building or other property
arsonist noun

Legal Definition

arson

noun
ar·​son ˈärs-ᵊn How to pronounce arson (audio)
: the act or crime of willfully, wrongfully, and unjustifiably setting property on fire often for the purpose of committing fraud (as on an insurance company)
arsonist noun
Etymology

Anglo-French arsoun, alteration of Old French arsin, literally, conflagration, from ars, past participle of ardre to burn

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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