Synonyms of fires

fires 1 of 2

noun

plural of fire

1

as in infernos

a destructive burning

a number of suspicious fires in the neighborhood recently

Synonyms & Similar Words

• infernos
• wildfires
• conflagrations
• blazes
• bonfires
• holocausts
• campfires
• forest fires
• backfires
• brush fires
• arsons
• flare-ups

2

as in ordeals

a test of faith, patience, or strength

asked to be sent to the front lines, as he was eager to prove himself in the fire of battle

Synonyms & Similar Words

• ordeals
• gauntlets
• trials
• crucibles
• crosses
• baptisms of fire
• tragedies
• misfortunes
• baptisms
• mishaps
• initiations
• woes
• tribulations
• grievances
• troubles
• challenges
• misadventures
• mischances
• privations
• hardships
• griefs
• adversities
• vicissitudes
• acid tests
• asperities
• complications
• afflictions
• rigors
• inconveniences
• difficulties
• litmus tests
• nuisances
• discomforts
• annoyances

fires

2 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of fire

1

as in shoots

to cause (a projectile) to be driven forward with force

police officers firing rubber bullets

Synonyms & Similar Words

• shoots
• launches
• throws
• blasts
• discharges
• hurls
• looses
• projects
• squeezes off
• flings
• catapults
• casts
• tosses
• blazes (at)
• lobs
• slings
• heaves
• hurtles
• pelts
• snipes (at)
• pitches

2

as in blasts

to cause a weapon to release a missile with great force

soldiers fired at the enemy in panic-stricken disorder

Synonyms & Similar Words

• shoots
• blasts
• blazes
• discharges
• peppers
• snipes
• plinks
• potshots

3

as in stimulates

to give life, vigor, or spirit to

a school outing to the natural history museum fired his imagination, and he grew up to become an eminent paleontologist

Synonyms & Similar Words

• stimulates
• stirs
• arouses
• animates
• provokes
• sparks
• activates
• spikes
• triggers
• awakens
• energizes
• cheers
• drives
• inspires
• electrifies
• vivifies
• excites
• lifts
• enlivens
• invigorates
• quickens
• vitalizes
• zips (up)
• revives
• braces
• raises
• motives
• motivates
• awakes
• recreates
• rouses
• jump-starts
• rallies
• propels
• amps (up)
• livens (up)
• charges
• moves
• strengthens
• fillips
• peps (up)
• boosts
• jazzes (up)
• gingers (up)
• kindles
• resurrects
• juices up
• refreshes
• wakes (up)
• galvanizes
• incites
• inflames
• actuates
• impels
• renews
• sets off
• ferments
• foments
• buoys
• instigates
• enkindles
• rekindles
• regenerates
• turns on
• infuses
• heartens
• reactivates
• whips (up)
• reawakens
• emboldens
• steels
• recharges
• fortifies
• abets
• resuscitates
• reanimates
• reinvigorates
• revitalizes
• rejuvenates
• reenergizes
• refreshens
• restimulates
• reawakes

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• kills
• damps
• dampens
• wears
• drains
• deadens
• exhausts
• dulls
• burns out
• undermines
• weakens
• knocks out
• wears out
• saps
• harasses
• slows
• checks
• fatigues
• wearies
• washes out
• debilitates
• enfeebles
• curbs
• does in
• inhibits
• enervates
• suppresses
• restrains
• fags
• quenches
• stunts
• quells
• represses
• stills
• discourages
• kayoes
• demoralizes
• tuckers (out)
• daunts
• disheartens
• jades
• dispirits

4

as in sacks

to let go from office, service, or employment

fired the secretary for incompetence

Synonyms & Similar Words

• sacks
• dismisses
• removes
• retires
• releases
• discharges
• axes
• cans
• terminates
• bounces
• turns off
• pink-slips
• excesses
• shows (someone) the door
• musters out
• sends packing
• downsizes
• lays off
• cashiers
• boots (out)
• kicks out
• furloughs
• trims
• separates
• drums (out)
• unseats
• chucks (out)
• throws out

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• employs
• retains
• hires
• engages
• keeps
• signs (up or on)
• takes on
• contracts
• rehires
• recruits
• reemploys
• subcontracts

5

as in throws

to send through the air especially with a quick forward motion of the arm

fired a pass to the running back

Synonyms & Similar Words

• throws
• hurls
• tosses
• flings
• launches
• bowls
• casts
• slings
• guns
• catapults
• heaves
• darts
• lobs
• pegs
• hurtles
• pitches
• dashes
• lofts
• flips
• chucks
• rifles
• lets fly
• pelts
• shoots
• thrusts
• rolls
• precipitates
• ejects
• passes
• projects
• propels
• hooks
• impels
• bucks

6

as in burns

to set (something) on fire

lit some kindling before attempting to fire the logs

Synonyms & Similar Words

• burns
• ignites
• scorches
• lights
• torches
• kindles
• inflames
• enkindles
• bakes
• illumines
• illuminates
• immolates
• cooks
• ashes
• incinerates
• broils
• kilns
• chars
• sets off
• stokes
• deflagrates
• relights
• rekindles
• brightens
• sears
• lightens
• cremates
• reignites
• frizzles
• irradiates
• radiates
• banks
• scalds
• scathes

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• extinguishes
• quenches
• puts out
• chokes
• smothers
• stamps (out)
• suffocates
• douses
• snuffs (out)
• obscures
• dims
• darkens
• blackens
• dulls

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of fires

Noun

Los Angeles Fire Department investigators are looking into a pair of fires that broke out inside of Amazon cargo containers being hauled through downtown Los Angeles in back-to-back weeks. —Dean Fioresi, CBS News, 16 Apr. 2026

The title comes from the street address for the home Crystal and his family lived in for 46 years, a house lost in last year's devastating Palisades fires. —ABC News, 15 Apr. 2026

Crystal was one of several celebrities to lose his home during the fires, which killed 31 people and destroyed thousands of homes in January 2025. —Emily Zemler, Rolling Stone, 15 Apr. 2026

Those two fires were put out quickly and damage was minimal, police said. —Thomas Tracy, New York Daily News, 15 Apr. 2026

India’s massive dump sites are prone to methane fires and dangerous ground movement, with waste mounds that can ignite, sink or collapse without warning. —CNN Money, 15 Apr. 2026

Earthquakes' sudden, rapid shaking can cause fires, tsunamis, landslides or avalanches. —Ca Earthquake Bot, Sacbee.com, 15 Apr. 2026

Roughly 175 firefighters responded to the six-alarm blaze, which is considered one of the most destructive warehouse fires in the region. —Stepheny Price, FOXNews.com, 15 Apr. 2026

In an interview with the editorial board, Prang was asked what effect the devastation of the Eaton and Palisades fires in January 2025 would have on his office. —The Editorial Board, Daily News, 15 Apr. 2026

Verb

Hezbollah, though weakened in its last war with Israel that ended in November 2024, still fires drones, rockets and artillery daily into northern Israel and on ground troops inside Lebanon. —Kareem Chehayeb, Los Angeles Times, 14 Apr. 2026

The teen keeps running, and then the officer fires. —CBS News, 14 Apr. 2026

The teen keeps running, and then the officer fires. —ABC News, 13 Apr. 2026

Any Iranian who fires at us, or at peaceful vessels, will be BLOWN TO HELL! —Kathryn Palmer, USA Today, 12 Apr. 2026

This woman fires her immediately. —Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 9 Apr. 2026

After release, the spaceplane fires its rocket engine and climbs to the edge of space. —Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 8 Apr. 2026

These gadgets, imported from China or Russia or homemade in the US with 3D printers, transform a semiautomatic weapon—which fires a single round with each trigger pull—into a fully automatic one, able to discharge at a rate of 1,200 rounds per minute, limited only by the capacity of the magazine. —Simon Akam, Vanity Fair, 2 Apr. 2026

The officer fires his gun and kills Otto about 30 seconds later. —David Clarey, jsonline.com, 27 Mar. 2026