as in to burn
to be on fire especially brightly
anthracite, which is naturally hard, combusts more cleanly than bituminous coal
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of combust
Better battery management systems and less flammable, metal enclosures could help prevent fires without retardants
Researchers say the best solution to this growing problem might be to focus on making efforts to prevent batteries from combusting in the first place.
—
Mack Degeurin, Popular Science, 30 Jan. 2025
While many of the family squabbles do eventually combust, Headland seems to acquiesce here and treads a little too delicately.
—Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 12 Dec. 2024
The plan seems destined to rival the negotiation process that Trump’s administration opened with Russia last month, and suggests a tacit acceptance that bringing Trump and Zelensky to the negotiating table together could result in tensions combusting once more.
—Rob Picheta, CNN, 2 Mar. 2025
In the Cold War, Washington—twice burned by Eurasian conflagrations—opted to keep the supercontinent from combusting again.
—Hal Brands, Foreign Affairs, 25 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for combust
Mack Degeurin, Popular Science, 30 Jan. 2025
While many of the family squabbles do eventually combust, Headland seems to acquiesce here and treads a little too delicately.
—Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 12 Dec. 2024
The plan seems destined to rival the negotiation process that Trump’s administration opened with Russia last month, and suggests a tacit acceptance that bringing Trump and Zelensky to the negotiating table together could result in tensions combusting once more.
—Rob Picheta, CNN, 2 Mar. 2025
In the Cold War, Washington—twice burned by Eurasian conflagrations—opted to keep the supercontinent from combusting again.
—Hal Brands, Foreign Affairs, 25 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for combust
Recent Examples of Synonyms for combust
Verb
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The pair, who met as college undergrads, both burned with idealism and recognized their privilege could be leveraged for a game-changing idea.—
Carole Horst,
Variety,
13 Sep. 2023
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The Ellen MacArthur Foundation promotes circular fashion and says that, in the United States, an amount of clothing equal to a garbage truck is ferried to landfills or burned every second.—
Neeti Mehra,
Treehugger,
13 Sep. 2023
Verb
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Her primary function seems to be solely to wear a tight, glowing suit and look concerned.—
Jordan Hoffman,
EW.com,
9 July 2025
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Bio-Oil has also received glowing reviews from more than one mama.—
Erin Bunch,
Glamour,
9 July 2025
Verb
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Someone cut a hole in the canvas top and dumped a Molotov cocktail into its soon flaming red interior.—
Marco della Cava,
USA Today,
3 July 2025
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While his bandmates pranced around the stage with black dildos bobbing from their noses and top hats jauntily cocked, Forrest would open the show in a Joker-esque getup, holding a flaming Bible.—
Brenna Ehrlich,
Rolling Stone,
8 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Combust.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/combust. Accessed 14 Jul. 2025.
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