inflame

verb in·flame \ in-ˈflām \

variants: or less commonly enflame

Definition of inflame

inflamed also enflamed; inflaming also enflaming

transitive verb

1 a :to excite to excessive or uncontrollable action or feeling; especially :to make angry

b :to make more heated or violent :intensify

insults served only to inflame the feud

2 :to set on fire :kindle

3 :to cause to redden or grow hot from anger or excitement

a face inflamed with passion

4 :to cause inflammation in (bodily tissue)

intransitive verb

1 :to burst into flame

2 :to become excited or angered

3 :to become affected with inflammation

—

inflamer

noun

See inflame defined for English-language learners

See inflame defined for kids

Examples of inflame in a Sentence

His angry speech inflamed the mob.
ideas that inflame the imagination
His comments have inflamed an already tense situation.
inflaming the passions of the mob
a chemical that can inflame the skin

Recent Examples of inflame from the Web

However, other experts in law enforcement tactics and psychology say that the presence of military gear can needlessly inflame dangerous situations.

— margaret hartmann, Daily Intelligencer, "Trump to Lift Ban on Providing Military Gear to Local Police," 28 Aug. 2017
Rayquan Borum, accused of a fatal shooting that further inflamed the angry demonstrations that swept through uptown last September, is expected Thursday to plead not guilty to first-degree murder charges, according to his attorney.

— michael gordon, charlotteobserver, "Accused shooter expected to plea not guilty to killing during uptown riots," 17 Aug. 2017
Estimates vary, but up to 9 percent of older adults are thought to have asthma — a respiratory condition that inflames the lungs and interferes with breathing.

— judith graham, Kaiser Health News, "Asthma, More Deadly With Age, Takes Heavy Toll On Older Adults," 10 Aug. 2017
And to the extent that the backlash is seen as explicitly conservative, that will only further inflame the loudest voices on the athletic left.

— david french, National Review, "Politicize Sports, Pay the Price," 28 July 2017
Rayquan Borum, accused of a fatal shooting that further inflamed the uptown demonstrations last September, is considering an offer from prosecutors to plead guilty to second-degree murder and avoid a potential life behind bars, his attorney says.

— michael gordon, charlotteobserver, "Plea deal offered in slaying that inflamed uptown Charlotte protests," 19 July 2017
That immune attack inflamed and weakened Wartman's muscles so much that a fall in January cracked his skull.

— jon cohen, Science | AAAS, "A stem cell transplant helped beat back a young doctor’s cancer. Now, it’s assaulting his body," 12 July 2017
The surge has inflamed a long-standing dispute over the way European Union countries share the burden of accommodating refugees and migrants from Africa, the Middle East and beyond.

— alexandra zavis, latimes.com, "Europe's migrant crisis threatens to overwhelm Italy, even as flows to Greece dry up," 4 July 2017
Now, official Kremlin documents reviewed by McClatchy could further inflame the debate about whether the company’s relationship with Russian intelligence is more than rumor.

— david goldstein and greg gordon, chicagotribune.com, "Documents link Russian cybersecurity firm Kaspersky to FSB spy agency," 3 July 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'inflame.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.