1,400 new words in our dictionary! — Parasocial, glow-up, promposal & more
1,400 new words in our dictionary! — More

fire-breather

noun

as in tiger
an aggressive and fiercely determined person the only hope for turning around that failing company would be a CEO who's a real fire-breather

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 fire-breather Maybe even some fire-breather performances? — Shelby Wax, Vogue, 28 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fire-breather
tiger
Noun
  • Monkeys, tigers, exotic birds destined for the pet trade or as trophies, reptiles and sea cucumbers prized for food and medicine all pass through the region's airports and border crossings, according to officials with the network.
    — John Donegan LONG BEACH POST, Arkansas Online, 15 Sep. 2026
  • The species joins the South China tiger and the Malayan tiger in the category of severe risk.
    — Derek Gatopoulos, Los Angeles Times, 15 Sep. 2026
Definition of tiger

Browse Nearby Words

firebrands
fire-breather
fire-breathers
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Fire-breather.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fire-breather. Accessed 24 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of pundit

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

Why do we say 'fly off the handle'?
See More

Popular

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
crayons-in-a-circle
Guess the Color Quiz Questions that use the whole box of crayons.
See All