nonflammable
adjective
Usage of Flammable, Inflammable, and Nonflammable
Flammable and inflammable look like opposites, but they both describe something that ignites easily and burns quickly. Inflammable arrived in English two centuries before flammable. Its prefix in- is not the one meaning "not," familiar from words like inactive and inaccurate. Instead it is another prefix altogether: in- as a form of -en-, meaning "to cause to be," as in the words indent and indebted. This fact is not obvious, however, and confusion about the meaning of inflammable persists. Using nonflammable is one way to ensure clarity when "not flammable" is the intended meaning.
Examples of nonflammable in a Sentence
Bloomberg, Mercury News, 12 Aug. 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
By using water as their solvent, these hydrogel batteries would prove nonflammable and less sensitive to moisture than commercial lithium-ion batteries.
—IEEE Spectrum, 21 Apr. 2025
Miller also recommended a buffer zone between homes and wildland areas, which would be kept clear and contain nonflammable vegetation.
—Denise Chow, NBC News, 22 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for nonflammable
Cite this Entry
“Nonflammable.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/nonflammable. Accessed 13 Nov. 2025.
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nonflammable
adjective
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