flames 1 of 2

noun

plural of flame
as in darlings
a person with whom one is in love decided to look up an old flame while she was in town

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flames

2 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of flame
1
as in burns
to be on fire especially brightly guests gathered around as the Yule log flamed brightly in the inn's great stone fireplace

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2
as in erupts
to develop suddenly and violently my anger flamed when the usher told my friend to shut up

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3
as in glows
to shine with a bright harsh light the noonday sun flamed down on the desert travelers

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4
as in gleams
to shoot forth bursts of light the actress's ruby necklace flamed dazzlingly under the bright lights

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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 flames
Noun
Video footage released by Romania's intelligence service showed a person climbing the ladder of a building's fire escape, followed by brief flashes and flames engulfing a building. — Stephen McGrath, Arkansas Online, 28 Oct. 2026 The homeowner gave investigators security camera video that showed an unidentified man using a hammer to smash the sliding glass door and enter the home, before leaving moments later as flames became visible. — Rosalio Ahumada, Sacbee.com, 27 Oct. 2026 But the following year one of the Lordstown Motors’ prototypes burst into flames on its first-ever road test. — Dan Kaufman, New Yorker, 27 Oct. 2026 Miami Fire Rescue said that Unit 410 had heavy smoke and flames coming from inside. — CBS News, 27 Oct. 2026 Video footage released by the intelligence service showed a person climbing the ladder of a building’s fire escape, followed by brief flashes and flames engulfing a building. — Stephen McGrath, Los Angeles Times, 27 Oct. 2026 Induction stoves cook food far more efficiently than gas flames. — Daniel Cohan, The Conversation, 26 Oct. 2026 Rioters clashed with police, set cars on fire, stormed public buildings and engulfed a historic city hall in flames in France’s worst civil unrest in years as violence and looting swept through major cities. — ABC News, 20 Oct. 2026 In the southwestern town of Limoges, the city hall’s 19th-century bell tower crumbled under a mass of flames. — Colette Davidson, Christian Science Monitor, 19 Oct. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for flames
  1. darlings
  2. burns
  3. erupts
  4. glows
  5. gleams
  6. sweethearts
  7. blazes
  8. explodes
Noun
  • Today, the Mexico City GP is recognized as one of the Formula 1 circuit’s intercontinental darlings.
    — Alan Chazaro, Condé Nast Traveler, 26 Oct. 2026
  • The Gators went from the darlings of college football to deservedly unranked in just a few weeks after an embarrassing blowout loss at home to South Carolina.
    — Ian Miller OutKick, FOXNews.com, 12 Oct. 2026
Definition of darlings
Verb
  • The report authors also looked at how climate change could play out differently if the world burns more or fewer fossil fuels and puts in place stronger or weaker policies.
    — Blanca Begert, Los Angeles Times, 20 Oct. 2026
  • Decades later, the fire lit by his first steed, a brown Schwinn Mag Scrambler, still burns bright.
    — Stewart Clarke, Deadline, 19 Oct. 2026
Definition of burns
Verb
  • Comedy civil war erupts as comics take sides over Shane Gillis monologue.
    — , FOXNews.com, 23 Oct. 2026
  • When Hanne, a staff member of a struggling animal rescue, unexpectedly becomes executor of a wealthy hunting family’s estate, a bitter battle over the inheritance erupts.
    — Annika Pham, Variety, 6 Oct. 2026
Definition of erupts
Verb
  • In the spring and summer, ‘Kaleidoscope’ glows yellow-green and bears small white flowers.
    — Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 15 Oct. 2026
  • All of them catch the light, so a cluster on a mantel or a windowsill glows as the afternoon sun moves across them.
    — Danielle Bouchard, Martha Stewart, 14 Oct. 2026
Definition of glows
Verb
  • Like Beckham’s dress, the 100-percent silk dress softly gleams in the light.
    — Izzy Baskette, PEOPLE, 12 Dec. 2025
  • Despite a couple of funky skips, the album is fueled by the hunger of an artist who really wants the pop life again, perking up electro-scuzz and arena rock with new wave that gleams like glitter.
    — Pitchfork, Pitchfork, 4 Dec. 2025
Definition of gleams
Noun
  • Goebbels interviewed Wessel’s grieving mother and wrote of Jaenichen and Wessel as childhood sweethearts, as though their story was from romance fiction.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 27 Oct. 2026
  • Gregory's mother-in-law told The Telegraph the couple were school sweethearts who had been together for over 20 years.
    — Andrea Margolis, FOXNews.com, 26 Oct. 2026
Definition of sweethearts
Verb
  • Continue reading … JONATHAN TURLEY — Justice Alito blazes the ethical path the Supreme Court should take.
    — , FOXNews.com, 2 Oct. 2026
  • As the flames approached the community in July, the majority of the village’s 3,500 residents were forced to flee their homes, as hundreds of firefighters were deployed to tackle blazes more violent and unpredictable than in previous years.
    — Billy Stockwell, CNN Money, 4 Aug. 2026
Definition of blazes
Verb
  • In other words, desire, in an unrepressed form, explodes the channels through which it is expected to flow.
    — Shanti Escalante-De Mattei, ARTnews.com, 26 Oct. 2026
  • In the video, shared by Nixon on Instagram, Benton, Baranski and others in full regalia (bustles, corsets, the whole nine yards) huddle around the iPad of John Douglas Thompson, who plays Peggy’s father, before the room explodes.
    — Alison Herman, Variety, 22 Oct. 2026
Definition of explodes

Phrases Containing flames

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flamers
flames
flames out
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Cite this Entry

“Flames.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/flames. Accessed 30 Oct. 2026.

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