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
Washington Examiner Staff, The Washington Examiner, 3 Oct. 2025
The fire turned the dark night sky orange in the area surrounding the refinery, with towering flames and billowing plumes of smoke visible from afar, images posted on social media showed and witnesses recalled.
—Hanna Park, CNN Money, 3 Oct. 2025
Olivia Singh, Forbes.com, 18 Sep. 2025
The showstopper here is the flaming chorizo, which adds a touch of drama to dinner.
—Caroline Rogers, Southern Living, 31 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for flame
Noun
Police officers, firefighters, and other first responders were on the scene after receiving multiple reports of an explosion and massive flames, according to various reports.
—Washington Examiner Staff, The Washington Examiner, 3 Oct. 2025
The fire turned the dark night sky orange in the area surrounding the refinery, with towering flames and billowing plumes of smoke visible from afar, images posted on social media showed and witnesses recalled.
—Hanna Park, CNN Money, 3 Oct. 2025
Verb
But in a twist, at the end of the first episode, Luke flamed up and flew into the sky, committing suicide by using his powers and exploding.
—Olivia Singh, Forbes.com, 18 Sep. 2025
The showstopper here is the flaming chorizo, which adds a touch of drama to dinner.
—Caroline Rogers, Southern Living, 31 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for flame
Recent Examples of Synonyms for flame
Noun
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Both Taylors got famous as kids, grew up in public as America’s sweetheart.—
Rob Sheffield,
Rolling Stone,
4 Oct. 2025
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In addition to Euphoria star Elordi, the movie costars Oscar Isaac as Frankenstein, along with Mia Goth (as Frankenstein's childhood sweetheart), and two-time Oscar winner Christoph Waltz (as an arms dealer not in the book).—
Raechal Shewfelt,
Entertainment Weekly,
1 Oct. 2025
Verb
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The mountains glowed with golden light, evoking a sense of enchantment and possibility.—
Lisa Greissinger,
Travel + Leisure,
4 Oct. 2025
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Los Milics was the subject of a glowing profile in the September 2025 issue of Food and Wine Magazine.—
Richard Ruelas,
AZCentral.com,
4 Oct. 2025
Verb
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During its first flyby of Saturn’s moon Enceladus in 2005, NASA’s Cassini spacecraft captured dramatic water ice plumes erupting into space from the moon’s south pole.—
Chris Young,
Interesting Engineering,
2 Oct. 2025
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The leaves on the park’s deciduous trees erupt into every shade of deep scarlet, fiery orange, and golden yellow—and visitors have front-row seats to see it all.—
Tara Massouleh McCay,
Southern Living,
2 Oct. 2025
Verb
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This would not have been a serious consideration midway through Newcastle’s 2-0 win against struggling, flailing Nottingham Forest — the nothingness of half-time was like a blessed relief — but a stodgy, slow-burning afternoon concluded with Howe’s team comfortable and edging towards dominance.—
George Caulkin,
New York Times,
6 Oct. 2025
-
North Fire has been burning on private land.—
CA WILDFIRE BOT,
Sacbee.com,
6 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Elanco's gleaming headquarters stands four stories tall, with floor-to-ceiling blue windows on every side and several balconies that overlook the 75-acre campus and provide an unobstructed view of the downtown skyline.—
Alysa Guffey,
IndyStar,
2 Oct. 2025
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Brecher's image captured spectacular detail in the sweeping spiral arms of the 260,000 light-year-wide galaxy gleaming with the intense light of star formation.—
Anthony Wood,
Space.com,
28 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Cardinale, one of Napa Valley’s leading producers of Cabernet Sauvignon, has been a darling among serious collectors since it was founded in 1982.—
Mike DeSimone,
Robb Report,
28 Sep. 2025
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Luchanko, of course, was the darling of that camp run by then-coach John Tortorella, who valued his speed, in particular.—
Kevin Kurz,
New York Times,
28 Sep. 2025
Verb
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As with Nashville Underground, The Spot by Dre and Snoop doesn’t have its owners’ names blazed across the entrance.—
Leena Tailor,
HollywoodReporter,
3 Oct. 2025
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But their stars blazed different paths for them both, converging again only by a twist of fate.—
Rolling Stone,
Rolling Stone,
3 Oct. 2025
Verb
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From there the phrase has exploded with TikTokers and even some Reddit users finding ways to incorporate the term and its accompanying hand gestures into their content.—
Jack Beresford,
MSNBC Newsweek,
3 Oct. 2025
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The post also included a video showing aerial footage of a fast-moving boat at sea that suddenly explodes.—
Antonio María Delgado,
Miami Herald,
3 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Flame.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/flame. Accessed 6 Oct. 2025.
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