as in sweetheart
a person with whom one is in love
decided to look up an old flame while she was in town
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
1
as in to glow
to be on fire especially brightly
guests gathered around as the Yule log flamed brightly in the inn's great stone fireplace
Synonyms & Similar Words
2
as in to erupt
to develop suddenly and violently
my anger flamed when the usher told my friend to shut up
Synonyms & Similar Words
3
4
as in to gleam
to shoot forth bursts of light
the actress's ruby necklace flamed dazzlingly under the bright lights
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
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Recent Examples of flame
Olivia Young, Travel + Leisure, 9 Apr. 2026
Two people were killed when a small airplane went off the runway and burst into flames in Arizona on April 8, according to authorities and news reports.
—Michelle Cruz, USA Today, 9 Apr. 2026
March 25, NPR, 25 Mar. 2026
And while most of the spacecraft will likely disintegrate in a flaming blaze during reentry, a few components could survive, according to NASA.
—Jackie Wattles, CNN Money, 10 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for flame
Noun
And with the open flame, your marshmallows won’t go to waste.
—Olivia Young, Travel + Leisure, 9 Apr. 2026
Two people were killed when a small airplane went off the runway and burst into flames in Arizona on April 8, according to authorities and news reports.
—Michelle Cruz, USA Today, 9 Apr. 2026
Verb
There, Kurds gather to light flaming torches at sunset, carrying them up the mountainside to symbolize light defeating darkness.
—March 25, NPR, 25 Mar. 2026
And while most of the spacecraft will likely disintegrate in a flaming blaze during reentry, a few components could survive, according to NASA.
—Jackie Wattles, CNN Money, 10 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for flame
Recent Examples of Synonyms for flame
Noun
-
Her silk sweetheart gown and cropped cardigan, also designed by Sarah Burton, went viral in 2022 as being particularly gorgeous and underrated.—
Katherine J Igoe,
InStyle,
5 Apr. 2026
-
Nedoroscik and McCracken became college sweethearts after meeting at Penn State University in 2017.—
Escher Walcott,
PEOPLE,
5 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
The 94-year-old I Dream of Jeannie star shared a picture with husband Jon Eicholtz for Easter, and fans were amazed at how glowing the actress looked.—
Marina Watts,
Entertainment Weekly,
9 Apr. 2026
-
Look to the upper left of Venus to find Jupiter, the second brightest object in the night sky, glowing in the constellation Gemini, with Sirius — the brightest star in the night sky — shining off to the left, close to the southwestern horizon.—
Anthony Wood,
Space.com,
9 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Szépvölgyi mocked the prime minister, who is 62, for seeming unsteady when boos erupted at one of his recent rallies.—
Isaac Stanley-Becker,
The Atlantic,
10 Apr. 2026
-
This year, after unusually heavy rains in February, Carrizo Plain erupted in a dramatic bloom in March, attracting several hundred visitors per day.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
10 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
An 80-year-old woman and a 59-year-old man were pulled from the burning building.—
Elijah Westbrook,
CBS News,
14 Apr. 2026
-
Five million American dollars were burned.—
Louis Menand,
New Yorker,
13 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Stars gleam and fade away fast, but the statues of two heartthrobs who died young and left good-looking corpses have lasted decades after their deaths.—
Patt Morrison,
Los Angeles Times,
2 Apr. 2026
-
His beans are on the menus of many top Bay Area restaurants, and a gleaming flagship store that opened in downtown Napa last week could be seen as a culmination of his 25 years of influence.—
Tara Duggan,
San Francisco Chronicle,
2 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Find table linens, throw blankets, chair cushions, wall art, and area rugs in the darling pattern that nail the sweet spot between nostalgic and trendy.—
Alicia Geigel,
Southern Living,
8 Apr. 2026
-
Between Wright and Gordon last season, Gordon, the hot new name as a rookie, was the darling out of training camp following a strong preseason.—
David Furones,
Sun Sentinel,
7 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
The set then closed out with ten minutes of joyous music and dancing from the entire troupe, punctuated by fireworks, blazing laser lights, blasts of flame and more.—
Jem Aswad,
Variety,
13 Apr. 2026
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Located between the Sahara tent and the Do Lab, the Bunker is a gigantic subterranean cavern with room for 300 or so people — a dark and cool respite from the blazing Indio sun.—
Mikael Wood,
Los Angeles Times,
10 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Old Herald clippings from 1986 reported about homeowners toilets and sinks smelling like gas, a 3-year-old getting rashes and fevers from drinking the well water and fear of driers exploding.—
Ashley Miznazi,
Miami Herald,
9 Apr. 2026
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More advanced packaging methods took off as chip complexity exploded in the last few years with the advent of AI.—
Katie Tarasov,
CNBC,
8 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Flame.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/flame. Accessed 14 Apr. 2026.
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