smolder

verb

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smol·der | \ ˈsmōl-dər

variants: or smoulder

smoldered or smouldered; smoldering or smouldering\ ˈsmōl-d(ə-)riŋ

Definition of smolder

intransitive verb

1a : to burn sluggishly, without flame, and often with much smoke

b : to be consumed by smoldering —often used with out

2 : to exist in a state of suppressed activity hostilities smoldered for years

3 : to show suppressed anger, hate, or jealousy eyes smoldering with hate

Examples of smolder in a Sentence

The remains of the campfire smoldered. Her eyes smoldered with anger. Anger smoldered in my heart.

Recent Examples on the Web His eyes smolder like burning coals in anticipation of the violence that his wrathful mission will inevitably entail. — Richard Brody, The New Yorker, "“Pebbles,” a Starkly Imagined Vision of Patriarchy and Poverty," 27 Apr. 2021 Firefighters struggled to put the flames out as the battery continued to smolder, even after hundreds of gallons of water had been sprayed onto the blaze. — Katie Shepherd, Anchorage Daily News, "A driverless Tesla crashed in Texas, killing 2 passengers and burning for hours," 19 Apr. 2021 Firefighters struggled to put the flames out as the battery continued to smolder, even after hundreds of gallons of water had been sprayed onto the blaze. — BostonGlobe.com, "A driverless Tesla crashed and burned for four hours, police said, killing two passengers in Texas," 19 Apr. 2021 Firefighters struggled to put the flames out as the battery continued to smolder, even after hundreds of gallons of water had been sprayed onto the blaze. — Washington Post, "A driverless Tesla crashed and burned for four hours, police said, killing two passengers in Texas," 19 Apr. 2021 Hart has brought her case to the House Administration Committee, which has been collecting briefs, and both sides have lawyered up for a dispute that could smolder into summer. — Alan Fram And Ryan J. Foley, chicagotribune.com, "Capitol riot clouds Democrats’ look at contested Iowa race," 24 Mar. 2021 Rain this week helped firefighters finally corral Fraser Island’s fire, though burns are expected to smolder into January. — Matthew Abbott, Environment, "Another Australian wildfire ignites—in one of its most unique ecosystems," 18 Dec. 2020 Today, the regions most affected by the uprisings—the Levant and North Africa—still smolder and the basic conditions that prompted the wide-ranging protests—high unemployment, state corruption, poor governance, and lack of freedoms—have only grown. — Afshin Molavi, Quartz Africa, "China’s economic impact in the Arab world has soared since the Arab Spring but jobs haven’t," 17 Dec. 2020 Many sites of stellar wreckage still smolder as expanding clouds, and pinpointing their year or even day of origin can help astronomers reconstruct their history, Fields says. — Charlie Wood, Popular Science, "Stars are dying all across the galaxy—why don’t we see them?," 16 Dec. 2020

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