fire (up)

verb

Definition of fire (up)next
as in to provoke
to rouse to strong feeling or action the dynamic speaker fired up the audience as no one had previously done

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for fire (up)
  1. provoke
  2. encourage
  3. stimulate
Verb
  • North Korea denied responsibility for the explosions and warned of strong retaliation if provoked.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 21 Oct. 2026
  • In 2012 American entrepreneur Russ George spread roughly 100 tons of iron in the North Pacific, provoking international criticism that a commercial venture had begun geoengineering without adequate oversight.
    — Alec Luhn, Scientific American, 20 Oct. 2026
Definition of provoke
Verb
  • Palestine Action founder Huda Ammori encouraged joining offshoot groups to circumvent the ban, the Telegraph reported.
    — Hudson Crozier, The Washington Examiner, 22 Oct. 2026
  • Meta encourages its users to name their AIs—and encourages its AIs to think like humans.
    — Andrew R. Chow, Time, 22 Oct. 2026
Definition of encourage
Verb
  • The move stimulated the private sector and accelerated the deployment of EV infrastructure, Vesser said.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 23 Oct. 2026
  • Issagholyan built out a 24-session plan to course-correct, involving twice weekly visits in which I would be chiropractically adjusted, my jaw cold-lasered to promote cellular regeneration and my back muscles stimulated by electrodes.
    — Alessandra Codinha, Vogue, 23 Oct. 2026
Definition of stimulate
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.

Browse Nearby Words

fires (up)
fire (up)
firewater
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Cite this Entry

“Fire (up).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fire%20%28up%29. Accessed 25 Oct. 2026.

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