as in fires
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 arsons
If convicted, Rinderknecht would be responsible for one of the nation’s most expensive wildfire arsons.
—
Bloomberg, Mercury News, 1 May 2026
Several people, ranging in age from teens to people in their 40s, have been arrested and charged over the arsons, which haven’t caused injuries.
—ABC News, 30 Apr. 2026
Several people, ranging in age from teens to people in their 40s, have been arrested and charged over the arsons, which haven’t caused injuries.
—Jill Lawless, Los Angeles Times, 29 Apr. 2026
The arsons were no accident, archaeological evidence suggests.
—Big Think, 25 Mar. 2026
The series of arsons started on March 2, when Farsaad allegedly started a fire inside an electrical vault inside a Fashion District warehouse.
—Matthew Rodriguez, CBS News, 20 Mar. 2026
That’s the price to pay as Jewish institutions try to alleviate fears of shootings, arsons, car-rammings and bombings.
—Eric Levenson, CNN Money, 13 Mar. 2026
It has been used in cases ranging from church arsons and antisemitic intimidation to political conspiracy and witness tampering.
—Josh Funk, Chicago Tribune, 31 Jan. 2026
When he was interviewed by police, Banda initially denied any involvement in the arsons but later admitted to setting the fires, according to the affidavit.
—Shambhavi Rimal, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 16 Jan. 2026
Bloomberg, Mercury News, 1 May 2026
Several people, ranging in age from teens to people in their 40s, have been arrested and charged over the arsons, which haven’t caused injuries.
—ABC News, 30 Apr. 2026
Several people, ranging in age from teens to people in their 40s, have been arrested and charged over the arsons, which haven’t caused injuries.
—Jill Lawless, Los Angeles Times, 29 Apr. 2026
The arsons were no accident, archaeological evidence suggests.
—Big Think, 25 Mar. 2026
The series of arsons started on March 2, when Farsaad allegedly started a fire inside an electrical vault inside a Fashion District warehouse.
—Matthew Rodriguez, CBS News, 20 Mar. 2026
That’s the price to pay as Jewish institutions try to alleviate fears of shootings, arsons, car-rammings and bombings.
—Eric Levenson, CNN Money, 13 Mar. 2026
It has been used in cases ranging from church arsons and antisemitic intimidation to political conspiracy and witness tampering.
—Josh Funk, Chicago Tribune, 31 Jan. 2026
When he was interviewed by police, Banda initially denied any involvement in the arsons but later admitted to setting the fires, according to the affidavit.
—Shambhavi Rimal, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 16 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for arsons
Noun
-
Bass reportedly earned the endorsement of former Vice President Kamala Harris recently; the support comes for a mayor who has long been scrutinized for her handling of the Los Angeles fires in January 2025, including by fellow mayoral candidate Spencer Pratt.—
Paris Barraza,
USA Today,
6 May 2026
-
As more lithium-ion batteries are deployed, some failures are inevitable, whether from defects or operational errors, which leads to fires.—
Georgina Jedikovska,
Interesting Engineering,
6 May 2026
Noun
-
San Diego is vulnerable to climate change impacts in the form of wildfires, rising seas and extreme heat and to the health effects of climate-warming emissions.—
David Garrick,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
7 May 2026
-
To do this researchers survey thousands of structures that faced wildfires and compare the percentage with the tech that survived with the percentage without the tech that survived.—
Noah Haggerty,
Los Angeles Times,
7 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Arsons.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/arsons. Accessed 8 May. 2026.
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