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
Examples 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 flame
Elizabeth Kolbert, The New Yorker, 19 Jan. 2025
Phillip looked outside for the first time in an hour and saw flames climbing the hills.
—Eli Saslow, New York Times, 19 Jan. 2025
Troy Renck, The Denver Post, 5 Jan. 2025
Sign up for our free Book Pages newsletter about bestsellers, authors and more
Readers may remember the title character as a warrior woman with flaming red hair wearing a bikini made from armor.
—Diya Chacko, Orange County Register, 19 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for flame 
Noun
Fanned by Santa Ana winds, the flames jumped the drive, then spread toward the homes of the rich and famous.
—Elizabeth Kolbert, The New Yorker, 19 Jan. 2025
Phillip looked outside for the first time in an hour and saw flames climbing the hills.
—Eli Saslow, New York Times, 19 Jan. 2025
Verb
Be miserable in your basement with flaming hot Cheetos and a Big Gulp.
—Troy Renck, The Denver Post, 5 Jan. 2025
Sign up for our free Book Pages newsletter about bestsellers, authors and more
Readers may remember the title character as a warrior woman with flaming red hair wearing a bikini made from armor.
—Diya Chacko, Orange County Register, 19 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for flame
Recent Examples of Synonyms for flame
Noun
-
And especially to be with Erika, his sweetheart since high school.—
James Rainey,
Los Angeles Times,
17 Jan. 2025
-
The professional baseball player, 23, tied the knot with his high school sweetheart Alyssa Kuri on Friday, Jan. 10 at The Ritz-Carlton, Rancho Mirage in California.—
Ashlyn Robinette,
People.com,
13 Jan. 2025
Verb
-
In some shots, embers can still be seen glowing amid the wreckage.—
Jake Kanter,
Deadline,
10 Jan. 2025
-
His second story collection, Chemical Valley, won the Alistair MacLeod Short Fiction Prize, received glowing reviews, and was a finalist for the Thomas Raddall Atlantic Fiction Award and the ReLit Award.—
Nicola Davison,
Hazlitt,
10 Jan. 2025
Verb
-
Social-media use intensified the new dynamics of online activism: The most striking early Twitter mobbing erupted in December 2013.—
David Frum,
The Atlantic,
15 Jan. 2025
-
The singer is part of the wider music community who have pulled together since the wildfires erupted on Jan. 7, killing at least 25 people and damaging more than 12,000 homes and buildings.—
Cheyenne Roundtree,
Rolling Stone,
15 Jan. 2025
Verb
-
The pair, who met as college undergrads, both burned with idealism and recognized their privilege could be leveraged for a game-changing idea.—
Carole Horst,
Variety,
13 Sep. 2023
-
The Ellen MacArthur Foundation promotes circular fashion and says that, in the United States, an amount of clothing equal to a garbage truck is ferried to landfills or burned every second.—
Neeti Mehra,
Treehugger,
13 Sep. 2023
Verb
-
Four lowriders, parked alongside gas pumps, gleamed in the afternoon sun in Altadena.—
Ken Bensinger,
New York Times,
16 Jan. 2025
-
Venus and Saturn will appear in the southwest, Jupiter will gleam overhead, and Mars will appear to rise in the east.—
Ashley Strickland,
CNN,
13 Jan. 2025
Noun
-
Other contenders: Rick Nash to the Rangers, Sergei Bobrovsky to the Blue Jackets, Paul Gaustad being the darling of the deadline for some reason 12.—
Sean McIndoe,
The Athletic,
8 Jan. 2025
-
Artificial intelligence darling Nvidia closed at a record high.—
Yeo Boon Ping,
CNBC,
7 Jan. 2025
Verb
-
Advertisement All seven main engines fired at liftoff as the rocket blazed through the predawn sky to the delight of spectators lining nearby beaches.—
Marcia Dunn,
Los Angeles Times,
16 Jan. 2025
-
Federal response teams are combatting the Los Angeles fires blazing across hundreds of acres, which have forced thousands to evacuate from their homes.—
The Hill,
The Hill,
12 Jan. 2025
Verb
-
Meanwhile, Trump's net worth was about to explode from an asset that, up to that point, didn't exist.—
MacKenzie Sigalos,
CNBC,
20 Jan. 2025
-
The Heat never looked back, exploding for 46 points in the third quarter to take a 24-point lead into the fourth quarter.—
Anthony Chiang,
Miami Herald,
20 Jan. 2025
Thesaurus Entries Near flame
Cite this Entry
“Flame.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/flame. Accessed 24 Jan. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share