as in fire
the illegal burning of a building or other property; the crime of setting fire to something
The cause of the fire has not yet been determined, but investigators suspect arson. The town has suffered a rash of arson attacks.
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Recent Examples of arson
Data collected by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, CatholicVote, and the A-Mark Foundation all point to high levels of vandalism, arson, threats, and shootings targeting Catholic churches in recent years.
—
Robert Schmad, The Washington Examiner, 30 Aug. 2025
Some homicides aren’t charged as murder or manslaughter cases, such as a July arson death ruled to have been reckless and deadly negligence, further obscuring a definitive number.
—Robert Salonga, Mercury News, 30 Aug. 2025
Iran is specifically accused of organizing an act of arson on a kosher restaurant in Sydney last October and another on the Adass Israel Synagogue in Melbourne in December.
—Arash Azizi, The Atlantic, 28 Aug. 2025
The two arson attacks caused significant property damage, but no injuries were reported.
—Peter Guo, NBC news, 26 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for arson
Robert Schmad, The Washington Examiner, 30 Aug. 2025
Some homicides aren’t charged as murder or manslaughter cases, such as a July arson death ruled to have been reckless and deadly negligence, further obscuring a definitive number.
—Robert Salonga, Mercury News, 30 Aug. 2025
Iran is specifically accused of organizing an act of arson on a kosher restaurant in Sydney last October and another on the Adass Israel Synagogue in Melbourne in December.
—Arash Azizi, The Atlantic, 28 Aug. 2025
The two arson attacks caused significant property damage, but no injuries were reported.
—Peter Guo, NBC news, 26 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for arson
Recent Examples of Synonyms for arson
Noun
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Authorities believe the fire originated from lightning.—
CA WILDFIRE BOT,
Sacbee.com,
3 Sep. 2025
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At one point, Haggard said fire rescue treated Kehl, who had been acting erratically.—
David Goodhue,
Miami Herald,
3 Sep. 2025
Noun
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As of Saturday afternoon, 76% of the wildfire was brought under containment.—
CA WILDFIRE BOT,
Sacbee.com,
7 Sep. 2025
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Evacuation orders have been announced for parts of Napa County, California as a wildfire continues to blaze through the area.—
Greta Cross,
USA Today,
26 Aug. 2025
Noun
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While wildfire season in Arizona used to arrive in spring and reliably end by the monsoon, fire seasons have turned into fire years as the blazes become more erratic and frequent.—
John Leos,
AZCentral.com,
3 Sep. 2025
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The blaze remains uncontained and and is still growing by Tuesday evening.—
CA WILDFIRE BOT,
Sacbee.com,
3 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Arson.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/arson. Accessed 9 Sep. 2025.
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