1
as in inferno
a destructive burning the historic tavern burned to the ground in a horrible conflagration

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2
as in hostilities
a state of armed violent struggle between states, nations, or groups what began as a skirmish over disputed territory erupted into a conflagration that swept the continent

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Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of conflagration Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia could be drifting further away from normalizing ties with Israel as the war in Gaza grinds on and a regional conflagration looms. Mohammed Sergie, semafor.com, 13 June 2025 How often vegetation buffers homes from igniting during urban conflagrations is still unclear, but this capacity has implications for regulations. Max Moritz, Mercury News, 5 June 2025 Greenland’s Flirtations With China Could Backfire After the Trump administration touched off a tariff war, the geopolitical skirmishing between the United States and China over rare earths became a much more complicated conflagration involving the United States, the European Union, and China. IEEE Spectrum, 8 May 2025 That translates to about 150 tons per acre of dead biomass in addition to any new growth that have sprung up, all of it a spark away from the next conflagration. Corinne Purtill, Los Angeles Times, 17 Apr. 2025 See All Example Sentences for conflagration
Recent Examples of Synonyms for conflagration
Noun
  • Nearly half a year since the infernos swept through their neighborhoods, thousands of people remain displaced – those like Mr. Quiroz’s mother, who lost homes, and those like Mr. Quiroz and his family, whose homes still stand.
    Melanie Stetson Freeman, Christian Science Monitor, 20 June 2025
  • But Israel has also widened the scope of its strikes to hit economic targets, turning vital parts of Iran’s fossil fuel infrastructure into infernos.
    Nabih Bulos, Los Angeles Times, 15 June 2025
Noun
  • These meetings initially took place virtually and then in person across different capitals, seeking a cessation of hostilities and the establishment of humanitarian corridors.
    Daniel R. Depetris, MSNBC Newsweek, 10 Apr. 2025
  • But Putin had other ideas, tying a halt in hostilities to the West readmitting certain Russian banks into the West’s financial network.
    Daniel DePetris, Chicago Tribune, 8 Apr. 2025
Noun
  • The full moon in Sagittarius on June 11 reveals where your creative fire may be burning out due to overextension.
    Meghan Rose, Glamour, 1 July 2025
  • Roley, who was found dead near the scene after appearing to have shot himself, is suspected of lighting the brush with a flint fire starter before ambushing the firefighting crew in a mountainous area of Coeur d’Alene, Idaho.
    David Zimmermann, The Washington Examiner, 1 July 2025
Noun
  • Culiacan, which has around 1 million residents and is the capital of western Mexico's Sinaloa state, has been wrought by a war for control between two rival drug trafficking groups of the Sinaloa cartel – Los Chapitos and La Mayiza.
    Sophia Compton, FOXNews.com, 1 July 2025
  • Iran Offer The flare-up between India and Pakistan has been overshadowed globally by the war between Israel and Iran, with the United States also joining strikes against Tehran's nuclear program.
    Jennifer Cunningham, MSNBC Newsweek, 1 July 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Conflagration.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/conflagration. Accessed 6 Jul. 2025.

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