flammable
adjective
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Why Inflammable Is Not the Opposite of Flammable
Combustible and incombustible are opposites but flammable and inflammable are synonyms. Why? The in- of incombustible is a common prefix meaning "not," but the in- of inflammable is a different prefix. Inflammable comes from Latin inflammare ("to inflame"), itself from in- (here meaning "in" or "into") plus flammare ("to flame"). Flammable also comes from flammare. In the early 20th century, firefighters worried that people might think inflammable meant "not able to catch fire," so they adopted flammable and nonflammable as official safety labels and encouraged their use to prevent confusion. In general use, flammable is now the preferred term for describing things that can catch fire, but inflammable is still occasionally used with that meaning as well.
Examples of flammable in a Sentence
Arlyssa D. Becenti, AZCentral.com, 5 July 2025
Keep vehicles off dry grass Properly discard cigarettes or anything flammable (think ashtrays or a nonflammable container, not the ground, and fully snuffed out)
The air quality, however, is not dangerous, according to AirNow, which reports the official U.S. air quality.
—Nicole Villalpando, Austin American Statesman, 2 July 2025
In 2021, Newsom created a wildfire and forest resilience task force, which recommended the state and federal governments manage flammable overgrowth on 1 million acres of the 33 million acres of forestlands in California every year.
—Noah Haggerty, Los Angeles Times, 2 July 2025
According to an indictment, Soliman brought a backpack weed sprayer filled with flammable liquid and a black plastic container filled with 18 glass bottles and jars full of flammable liquid, several with red rags stuffed through the top to act as a wick.
—Jennifer McRae, CBS News, 30 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for flammable
Cite this Entry
“Flammable.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/flammable. Accessed 9 Jul. 2025.
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flammable
adjective
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