inflammatory

adjective

in·​flam·​ma·​to·​ry in-ˈfla-mə-ˌtȯr-ē 

1

: tending to excite anger, disorder, or tumult : seditious

2

: tending to inflame or excite the senses

3

: accompanied by or tending to cause inflammation

inflammatorily

in-ˌfla-mə-ˈtȯr-ə-lē 

adverb

Synonyms

• incendiary
• seditious

Examples of inflammatory in a Sentence

She had an acute inflammatory reaction to the drug.

He incited the mob with an inflammatory speech.

Recent Examples on the Web

More recently people against Tucson supporting a cease-fire resolution have also begun speaking up at council meetings, voicing concern about inflammatory rhetoric being expressed during the open comment portion of city council meetings. —Sarah Lapidus, The Arizona Republic, 9 Apr. 2024

The reason being that shampoo itself doesn’t make much of an impact on the scalp, unless there is an inflammatory scalp condition, like seborrheic dermatitis, excessive bacteria and fungus, excessive oil, or Demodex parasites. —Iman Balagam, Vogue, 9 Apr. 2024

Also, natural supplements like turmeric, magnesium, and omega fatty acids work systemically to reduce inflammatory chemicals irritating nerve endings. —Hilary Tetenbaum, Detroit Free Press, 8 Apr. 2024

This inflammatory skin condition causes inflammation and small cracks at the corner of the mouth. —Jocelyn Solis-Moreira, CNN, 7 Apr. 2024

Research has found that CBD may prevent the activation of inflammatory cytokines, which cause breakouts. —Amber Smith, Discover Magazine, 3 Apr. 2024

Former President Donald Trump has been open about deliberately using inflammatory words to attract attention in the 2024 presidential race. —USA TODAY, 1 Apr. 2024

Mystery around what causes long COVID Scientists are not sure what causes long COVID but have identified risk factors including having underlying conditions or experiencing multi-system inflammatory syndrome due to COVID. —Mary Kekatos, ABC News, 20 Mar. 2024

But in the two weeks since the primary, inflammatory remarks he's made on a range of topics have been rapidly resurfacing, flagged by reporters and opponents. —Kaia Hubbard, CBS News, 19 Mar. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1711, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing inflammatory

• anti-inflammatory
• inflammatory bowel disease
• multisystem inflammatory syndrome
• multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children
• pediatric multisystem inflammatory syndrome
• pelvic inflammatory disease
• pro-inflammatory

Kids Definition

inflammatory

adjective

in·​flam·​ma·​to·​ry in-ˈflam-ə-ˌtōr-ē 

-ˌtȯr-

1

: stirring up anger, disorder, or rebellion

inflammatory speeches

2

: causing or accompanied by inflammation

inflammatory diseases

Medical Definition

inflammatory

adjective

in·​flam·​ma·​to·​ry in-ˈflam-ə-ˌtōr-ē, -ˌtȯr- 

: accompanied by or tending to cause inflammation

inflammatory diseases

Legal Definition

inflammatory

noun

in·​flam·​ma·​to·​ry

in-ˈfla-mə-ˌtōr-ē

: tending to cause anger, animosity, or indignation

the use of an alias by a defendant is…almost always inflammatory

—F. D. Doucette

Note: Evidence, and especially photographic evidence, may be deemed inadmissible if its inflammatory nature seriously outweighs its probative value or relevance. The mere fact that evidence is graphic or gruesome, however, is not enough to render it inadmissible.