as in torches
a person who deliberately and unlawfully sets fire to a building or other property
they finally caught the arsonist, but only after he'd set fire to four barns
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Recent Examples of arsonists
Haney said that the Palisades Fire was a separate blaze started by unidentified arsonists and that prosecutors lacked physical evidence linking Rinderknecht to arson.
—
N'dea Yancey-Bragg,
USA Today,
26 June 2026
Moscow regularly recruits young men of various nationalities — the Starmer arsonists were Ukrainian-born — as proxies in its shadowy hybrid warfare campaigns, Reuters reported.
—
Tom Chivers,
semafor.com,
15 June 2026
Since late March, attackers have randomly stabbed two Jewish men, and arsonists have attacked three synagogues, an educational building, and four charity ambulances in the United Kingdom.
—
David Frum,
The Atlantic,
21 May 2026
Spate of attacks In March, arsonists set fire to four ambulances belonging to a Jewish charity, also in Golders Green.
—
Jomana Karadsheh,
CNN Money,
1 May 2026
A little over six years after being targeted by arsonists during wide-ranging protests in Santiago, Chile, the Violeta Parra Museum has been reopened to the public, the Art Newspaper reports.
—
News Desk,
Artforum,
6 Apr. 2026
The state of Maryland is burning at the hands of political arsonists, and the Maryland Freedom Caucus continues to criticize the color of the few fire trucks Maryland Republicans are deploying to contain the disaster.
—
Torrey Snow,
Baltimore Sun,
25 Feb. 2026
In May, arsonists incinerated an 860,000-square-foot megamall in Warsaw; an investigation found the blaze was ordered by the GRU.
—
The Week Us,
TheWeek,
17 Feb. 2026
The arsonists were never identified.
—
Literary Hub,
27 Jan. 2026
N'dea Yancey-Bragg,
USA Today,
26 June 2026
Moscow regularly recruits young men of various nationalities — the Starmer arsonists were Ukrainian-born — as proxies in its shadowy hybrid warfare campaigns, Reuters reported.
—
Tom Chivers,
semafor.com,
15 June 2026
Since late March, attackers have randomly stabbed two Jewish men, and arsonists have attacked three synagogues, an educational building, and four charity ambulances in the United Kingdom.
—
David Frum,
The Atlantic,
21 May 2026
Spate of attacks In March, arsonists set fire to four ambulances belonging to a Jewish charity, also in Golders Green.
—
Jomana Karadsheh,
CNN Money,
1 May 2026
A little over six years after being targeted by arsonists during wide-ranging protests in Santiago, Chile, the Violeta Parra Museum has been reopened to the public, the Art Newspaper reports.
—
News Desk,
Artforum,
6 Apr. 2026
The state of Maryland is burning at the hands of political arsonists, and the Maryland Freedom Caucus continues to criticize the color of the few fire trucks Maryland Republicans are deploying to contain the disaster.
—
Torrey Snow,
Baltimore Sun,
25 Feb. 2026
In May, arsonists incinerated an 860,000-square-foot megamall in Warsaw; an investigation found the blaze was ordered by the GRU.
—
The Week Us,
TheWeek,
17 Feb. 2026
The arsonists were never identified.
—
Literary Hub,
27 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for arsonists
torches
Noun
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Some held torches to light the way as floodlights appeared to illuminate the rubble against the darkness of night.
-
Or, try lighting citronella torches and candles around your outdoor entertaining space to keep mosquitoes at bay.
Cite this Entry
“Arsonists.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/arsonists. Accessed 1 Jul. 2026.
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