as in burning
being on fire
combusting oxygen tanks turned the fire on the evacuees' bus into a raging inferno
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in glowing
to be on fire especially brightly
anthracite, which is naturally hard, combusts more cleanly than bituminous coal
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Recent Examples of combusting
Thao Nguyen, USA TODAY, 3 Oct. 2024
Verb
Crews detected no visible signs of the fire, such as flames, smoke or perceptibly combusting material.
—Thao Nguyen, USA TODAY, 3 Oct. 2024
Recent Examples of Synonyms for combusting
Adjective
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Please tell me the sequel could answer the most burning question of the ’00s: How could Austin not recognize Sam in that mask?—
Stephanie McNeal,
Glamour,
13 Aug. 2025
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Cooper, 30, asked Hargitay one more burning question about the actors' on-screen alter egos: will Olivia and Elliot ever end up together?—
Victoria Edel,
People.com,
26 June 2025
Verb
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Isaiah Rodgers, who played for the Eagles in 2024 and has been becoming a star this season with the Vikings, offered some glowing praise for the Philadelphia star.—
Evan Massey,
MSNBC Newsweek,
21 Oct. 2025
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The meteors, known for their brightness and speed, travel at about 41 miles per second into Earth's atmosphere and can leave glowing trains, or incandescent bits of debris following the meteor, that last for several seconds to minutes.—
Diana Leyva,
Nashville Tennessean,
20 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Blooms reach five inches across and appear in flaming red, pink, yellow, orange, and in all possible versions and mixtures of these colors.—
Joshua Siskin,
Oc Register,
11 Oct. 2025
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Spotify also shared a graphic of the same design on Instagram, captioning it simply with a key emoji and flaming heart.—
Hannah Dailey,
Billboard,
29 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Necas is off to a blazing start this season.—
Corey Masisak,
Denver Post,
22 Oct. 2025
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But perhaps more importantly, Cork Tree helped the band become the therapists pumping through the speakers of a whole generation of skinny jean-wearing teens, igniting the pop-punk and emo music scene into a blazing force for the masses.—
Maya Georgi,
Rolling Stone,
22 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Combusting.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/combusting. Accessed 28 Oct. 2025.
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