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

• provocative
• seditious
• incendiary

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

The inflammatory comments come shortly after Musk had promised improvements to Grok’s operations. —Andreas Wiseman, Deadline, 9 July 2025

The White House called on congressional Democrats to tone down inflammatory language after a gunman on Monday opened fire at Border Patrol agents at an annex facility in McAllen, Texas. —Alexandra Koch, FOXNews.com, 8 July 2025

Roughly 25-30% of all patients with psoriasis also develop psoriatic arthritis because of the inflammatory factors circulating in the blood, says Dupati. —Elizabeth Yuko, Flow Space, 7 July 2025

These subtle inflammatory leaks have been implicated in cardiovascular disease, diabetes, adverse pregnancy outcomes and neurodegenerative disorders, to name a few. —Ximena Araya-Fischel, Forbes.com, 4 July 2025

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

Rhymes for inflammatory

• accusatory
• admonitory
• ambulatory
• amendatory
• celebratory
• circulatory
• combinatory
• commendatory
• compensatory
• condemnatory
• confirmatory
• confiscatory

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.