ablaze

adjective

ə-ˈblāz How to pronounce ablaze (audio)
Definition of ablazenext
1
as in burning
being on fire the entire block was ablaze by the time firefighters arrived

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in illuminated
filled with much light that night the ballroom, ablaze with light, looked very different from the curtained room it usually was by day

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of ablaze In the central city of Limoges, the historic town hall was set ablaze, with video showing its roof collapsing. — Joseph Ataman, CNN Money, 17 Oct. 2026 In the Chicago Tribune, Loerzel wrote that the opening of the Uptown in 1925 was cause for a festival, complete with bands, trapeze artists and a madcap performer who set himself ablaze and submerged himself in water to extinguish the flames. — Adam Harrington, CBS News, 16 Oct. 2026 Russian drones are suspected of sinking a cargo ship and leaving chemical tankers ablaze near the Black Sea coasts of Bulgaria and Romania, respectively. — Jeremy Hsu, ArsTechnica, 15 Oct. 2026 Usually, loose electrical equipment from the wiring sets the gym ablaze and electrocutes various characters; sometimes just students, often the school’s principal. — Alex Zalben, IndieWire, 9 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for ablaze
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ablaze
  1. burning
  2. illuminated
  3. blazing
  4. illumined
  5. flaming
  6. light
  7. aflame
  8. bright
Adjective
  • Prosecutors said some of the money was used for recruiting new members and purchasing Ku Klux Klan robes and materials for cross-burning ceremonies.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 7 July 2026
  • In the case of the cross-burning incident, there is no comparison to the Jussie Smollett case.
    — Chicago Tribune, Chicago Tribune, 19 June 2026
Definition of burning
Adjective
  • Slanted vertical light animations frame an illuminated lightning bolt emblem.
    — New Atlas, New Atlas, 21 Oct. 2026
  • Near the brightly illuminated planet Adrian, background stars were therefore largely absent.
    — Davide Abbatescianni, Variety, 18 Oct. 2026
Definition of illuminated
Adjective
  • Anrabess Sleeveless Maxi Sundress, $44 During summer’s blazing-hot weather, wearing cotton pieces like this Chartou Shift Dress and Chouyatou Striped style is a must for keeping cool.
    — Alyssa Morin, InStyle, 25 July 2026
  • Allergens, hot temps and blazing rays can make eyes extra scratchy and dry.
    — Helen Carefoot, Flow Space, 22 July 2026
Definition of blazing
Adjective
  • The backdrop is brightly illumined screens that hurt your eyes.
    — Classical Music Critic, Los Angeles Times, 5 Aug. 2026
Definition of illumined
Adjective
  • There was Nolan Ross Palmer, who swallowed flaming hot dogs whole during season 21, and the Human Fountains, who spit water into one another’s mouths in season 13.
    — Skyler Caruso, PEOPLE, 24 Sep. 2026
  • In Marvel Comics lore, Blaze is a motorcycle stuntman whose soul becomes bound to the Spirit of Vengeance, granting him supernatural abilities — and a flaming skull-head.
    — Devan Coggan, Entertainment Weekly, 18 Aug. 2026
Definition of flaming
Adjective
  • In modern nuclear weapons, conventional explosives set off a fission reaction—the splitting of big atoms—whose intensity then ignites a fusion reaction that combines light atoms.
    — Sarah Scoles, Scientific American, 20 Oct. 2026
  • Birkin asked her seatmate why the company didn’t yet make a handbag that was bigger than the Kelly, but smaller and lighter than the Hermès’s Haut à Courroies, which her ex Serge Gainsbourg had carried for years.
    — Marisa Meltzer, Vanity Fair, 19 Oct. 2026
Definition of light
Adjective
  • Located right in Mystic is the Denison Pequotsepos Nature Center, which offers numerous hiking trails winding through forests of stately oaks, red maples, and American beech trees aflame with color.
    — Jessica Puckett, Condé Nast Traveler, 2 Sep. 2026
  • Tired of grinding out a living in Vegas, ballerina-turned-showgirl Michelle (Sutton Foster) finally agrees to marry Hubbell (Alan Ruck), a longtime suitor who doesn’t exactly set her heart aflame.
    — Judy Berman, Time, 11 Aug. 2026
Definition of aflame
Adjective
  • The skies over England were bright with auroras on October 18, 1848, as the Sun was entering a more active phase in its solar cycle.
    — Mike McRae October 15, New Atlas, 16 Oct. 2026
  • Skies of bright October blue pave the way for not-so-distant November gray.
    — Dana Kelley, Arkansas Online, 16 Oct. 2026
Definition of bright

Browse Nearby Words

abjuring
ablaze
able
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Cite this Entry

“Ablaze.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ablaze. Accessed 24 Oct. 2026.

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