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 fat overload in astrocytes and microglia activates inflammatory pathways. —New Atlas, 26 Oct. 2025

Last month, Novartis also partnered with Matchpoint Therapeutics in a collaboration valued at up to $1 billion to develop oral medicines for inflammatory diseases. —Reuters, USA Today, 26 Oct. 2025

Tau is a protein that often spreads after inflammation in the brain, and women tend to have stronger inflammatory reactions than men. —Barbara Bry, San Diego Union-Tribune, 26 Oct. 2025

Why Some Cancers Manifest Differently While mammography and self-exams can tip you off to many breast cancers, inflammatory breast cancer is identified visually. —Anisa Arsenault, Health, 24 Oct. 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.