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
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
When combusted, biogas can produce significant amounts of heat, useful in various industrial and agricultural applications.
—Sergey Buchin, Forbes, 2 Jan. 2025
The power plant likely also stores chemicals used for cooling, cleaning or other processes, some of which may combust under certain circumstances.
—Yaakov Katz, Newsweek, 17 Jan. 2025
In conventional designs, air is compressed by an axial compressor, mixed with fuel, and combusted continuously.
—Vikram Mittal, Forbes, 13 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for combust
Hal Brands, Foreign Affairs, 25 Feb. 2025
When combusted, biogas can produce significant amounts of heat, useful in various industrial and agricultural applications.
—Sergey Buchin, Forbes, 2 Jan. 2025
The power plant likely also stores chemicals used for cooling, cleaning or other processes, some of which may combust under certain circumstances.
—Yaakov Katz, Newsweek, 17 Jan. 2025
In conventional designs, air is compressed by an axial compressor, mixed with fuel, and combusted continuously.
—Vikram Mittal, Forbes, 13 Jan. 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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This pageant of puppetry includes a flutter of butterflies, a goat with a plaintive bleat, a menagerie of wild animals and, at one point, a school of glowing fish.—
Charles McNulty,
Los Angeles Times,
9 May 2025
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Reserve a late-afternoon session in the upstairs tasting room, order cheese and charcuterie, and watch the glowing sun set on the hills.—
Anya von Bremzen,
AFAR Media,
8 May 2025
Verb
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Through the Looking Glass (2015) Most on-theme: Rihanna Yes, Sarah Jessica Parker wore what appeared to be a flaming headdress.—
Kevin Jacobsen,
EW.com,
5 May 2025
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On stage with her family last night, Bey wore a Loewe crystal white and black-piped cowboy shirt and a flowing ruby red check skirt, with flaming thigh high cowboy boots.—
Anna Cafolla,
Vogue,
2 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Combust.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/combust. Accessed 21 May. 2025.
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