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 Then light the needles in several places, starting at the base, and fan the flames into a conflagration. Peter Barrett, Outside, 30 Aug. 2025 And bumps in the early light curve of a supernova could indicate the presence of a close companion – a nearby star, brown dwarf or giant planet – that has become caught up in the conflagration. Keith Cooper, Space.com, 19 Aug. 2025 Otherwise, his entreaties are just words that mean nothing and risk drawing the United States deeper into a moral conflagration that doesn't serve its interests. Zoltan Istvan, MSNBC Newsweek, 5 Aug. 2025 Three years into Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and almost two years into Israel’s war on Hamas in Gaza, both conflagrations have reached new heights. Shira Li Bartov, Sun Sentinel, 5 Aug. 2025 See All Example Sentences for conflagration
Recent Examples of Synonyms for conflagration
Noun
  • The two fires combined into an inferno following months of drought amid a winter nearly devoid of snow.
    Colleen Slevin, Twin Cities, 24 Sep. 2025
  • The rain, along with a phalanx of firefighters, wasn’t enough to stop the inferno that resulted.
    Tony Sachs, Forbes.com, 10 Sep. 2025
Noun
  • Meanwhile, the interethnic hostilities that led to the horrors of Sri Lanka’s civil war—which ended, in 2009, with the brutal defeat of the island’s Tamil minority—persist under his watch.
    Kapil Komireddi, New Yorker, 22 Sep. 2025
  • John Cleese and Piers Morgan have renewed their social media hostilities over Jimmy Kimmel’s suspension and Donald Trump‘s state visit to the UK.
    Jake Kanter, Deadline, 19 Sep. 2025
Noun
  • The promo confirms that Burke’s battalion chief Vince died in the memory care building fire where he, along with his wife, Cal Fire Division Chief Sharon (Diane Farr), and his father, retired battalion chief Walter Leone (Jeff Fahey), were trapped with the roof collapsing on them.
    Nellie Andreeva, Deadline, 23 Sep. 2025
  • This fire was apparently extinguished quickly, allowing recovery crews to approach the descent module.
    Leonard David, Space.com, 23 Sep. 2025
Noun
  • The titan Chronos, patriarch to all the gods, returns to get revenge for his imprisonment at the hands of his children, taking control of Tartarus and simultaneously waging war on the mortal world via Mount Olympus.
    Christopher Cruz, Rolling Stone, 27 Sep. 2025
  • Mature private capital markets and strategic acquirers with heavy war-chests allow companies to stay private for longer, or forever.
    Aman Ghei, Fortune, 27 Sep. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Conflagration.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/conflagration. Accessed 29 Sep. 2025.

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