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
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
Chkhikvishvili also solicited the undercover agent to commit bombings and arsons targeting racial minorities, prosecutors said.
—Jeanine Santucci, USA Today, 19 Nov. 2025
By then, the amount of arsons in the three-day period leading up to Halloween had fallen dramatically from the 1984 peak of over 800 fires.
—Jc Reindl, Freep.com, 30 Oct. 2025
Officers later executed a search warrant at the teen’s home finding what police said was evidence connecting him to the earlier car arsons.
—Darrell Smith, Sacbee.com, 23 Oct. 2025
Listen to this article With vandalism and arsons of Tesla cars becoming more common across the country, the Connecticut legislature’s Conservative Caucus called Monday for top state officials to label the property crimes as domestic terrorism.
—Christopher Keating, Hartford Courant, 31 Mar. 2025
This, in turn, led to waves of protest and a series of arsons that afflicted 24 churches over the next two years.
—The Editors, National Review, 28 Feb. 2025
And three vehicles were set ablaze in two separate arsons at Tatiana Pino’s sister’s residence.
—Douglas Hanks, Miami Herald, 27 Feb. 2025
Advertisement No one was injured in any of the subsequent arsons.
—James Queally, Los Angeles Times, 17 Jan. 2025
Shambhavi Rimal, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 16 Jan. 2026
Chkhikvishvili also solicited the undercover agent to commit bombings and arsons targeting racial minorities, prosecutors said.
—Jeanine Santucci, USA Today, 19 Nov. 2025
By then, the amount of arsons in the three-day period leading up to Halloween had fallen dramatically from the 1984 peak of over 800 fires.
—Jc Reindl, Freep.com, 30 Oct. 2025
Officers later executed a search warrant at the teen’s home finding what police said was evidence connecting him to the earlier car arsons.
—Darrell Smith, Sacbee.com, 23 Oct. 2025
Listen to this article With vandalism and arsons of Tesla cars becoming more common across the country, the Connecticut legislature’s Conservative Caucus called Monday for top state officials to label the property crimes as domestic terrorism.
—Christopher Keating, Hartford Courant, 31 Mar. 2025
This, in turn, led to waves of protest and a series of arsons that afflicted 24 churches over the next two years.
—The Editors, National Review, 28 Feb. 2025
And three vehicles were set ablaze in two separate arsons at Tatiana Pino’s sister’s residence.
—Douglas Hanks, Miami Herald, 27 Feb. 2025
Advertisement No one was injured in any of the subsequent arsons.
—James Queally, Los Angeles Times, 17 Jan. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for arsons
Noun
-
By year’s end, some 9,917 fires scorched more than four million acres, accelerating flash floods and mudflow.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
29 Jan. 2026
-
Shortly after the fires, the federal government suddenly refused to adhere to California’s decades-old post-fire soil-testing policy; California later considered following suit.—
Tony Briscoe,
Los Angeles Times,
28 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Advertisement Climate Change From hurricanes to wildfires, extreme weather events can impact electricity prices.—
Simmone Shah,
Time,
21 Jan. 2026
-
Hotter temperatures intensify wildfires, and drought produces more fuel.—
Bill Frist,
Forbes.com,
21 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Arsons.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/arsons. Accessed 29 Jan. 2026.
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