blazes (up)

verb

present tense third-person singular of blaze (up)
as in erupts
to develop suddenly and violently after years of decline, street crime blazed up again

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for blazes (up)
  1. erupts
  2. explodes
  3. breaks out
Verb
  • Unfortunately, in the real world, bad behavior erupts at high school games — fights and even worse.
    — Jerald McNair, Chicago Tribune, 11 Sep. 2026
  • The violence that has been simmering with the Ploughman now erupts into a revolution joined by thousands and thousands of peasants.
    — Pete Hammond, Deadline, 9 Sep. 2026
Definition of erupts
Verb
  • Directed by Venice prize-winner John Swab, Copperhead‘s plot is thrust into motion when an undercover drug deal explodes into violence.
    — Matt Grobar, Deadline, 8 Sep. 2026
  • That explodes into action in one startlingly seedy scene involving a rape in full view of revelers at a hotel party.
    — Beatrice Loayza, Variety, 30 Aug. 2026
Definition of explodes
Verb
  • In general, when a trade war breaks out, the smaller economy has more to lose compared to the larger one, said Ari Van Assche, a professor of international business at HEC Montréal who specializes in international trade.
    — Elisabeth Buchwald, CNN Money, 8 Sep. 2026
  • EconomyBookings, for example, breaks out what a rate covers at checkout, identifies whether a pickup point sits in the terminal or off-site, and states cancellation terms on eligible bookings.
    — Matthew Kayser, USA Today, 31 Aug. 2026
Definition of breaks out
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.

Browse Nearby Words

blazes (at)
blazes (up)
blaze (up)
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Blazes (up).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/blazes%20%28up%29. Accessed 14 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of empirical

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary

Words from the 'Odyssey'

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of
See More

Popular

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
funny guinea pig in glasses reading a book
Challenging Words You Should Know Vol 2 Words to the wise
See All