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

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

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

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

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

Synonyms & Similar Words
4
as in gleams
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. 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
No determination of the cause has been made, though several witnesses reported seeing flames and smoke coming from the plane’s far-right engine. — Miami Herald Archives, Miami Herald, 8 Sep. 2026 The Boeing 767-300, operated by 21 Air as Prime Air Flight 7598, overshot the runway and burst into flames on Sunday, killing at least five people and shutting down the airport's runways. — Alex Harring, CNBC, 8 Sep. 2026 To make matters worse, the high school recreation center where Carver’s body lay became engulfed in flames. — Brian Davids, HollywoodReporter, 8 Sep. 2026 Video shows flames pouring out of a boat at the Diversiy Harbor on Sunday. — Asal Rezaei, CBS News, 8 Sep. 2026 Some 200 emergency personnel responded, finding the plane with heavy flames and smoke from a complex engine compartment fire, the department said. — ABC News, 7 Sep. 2026 Emergency crews responded to the residential fire and quickly worked to contain the flames. — Denis Akbari, USA Today, 1 Sep. 2026 Bright flames shot out of an overhead compartment as flight attendants ran down the smoky aisle with fire extinguishers. — Alison J. Stein, HubSpot, 1 Sep. 2026 The vehicle caught on fire after the crash and became engulfed in flames, according to state police. — Justin Muszynski, Hartford Courant, 31 Aug. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for flames
  1. darlings
  2. burns
  3. erupts
  4. glows
  5. gleams
  6. sweethearts
  7. blazes
  8. explodes
Noun
  • The vaunted Miami Hurricanes were able to obliterate an undermanned Stanford team out west, and the Michigan State Spartans kicked off the Pat Fitzgerald era in style with a 30-20 win over MAC darlings Toledo on Friday.
    — Austin Perry OutKick, FOXNews.com, 5 Sep. 2026
  • The company adds some 30 to 60 movies to its catalog annually, most of them lost gems of world cinema, festival-circuit darlings, or old Hollywood hits.
    — Sophia Nguyen, The Atlantic, 28 Aug. 2026
Definition of darlings
Verb
  • The rivalry burns as strong as ever, but so does the mutual respect, which survives the collisions, politics and long silences.
    — Daniel Gallan, New York Times, 10 Sep. 2026
  • There’s a mysterious sickness going around, apparently caused by a toxic fog that invisibly burns the skin of whoever comes into contact with it.
    — Beatrice Loayza, Variety, 9 Sep. 2026
Definition of burns
Verb
  • Unfortunately, in the real world, bad behavior erupts at high school games — fights and even worse.
    — Jerald McNair, Chicago Tribune, 11 Sep. 2026
  • The violence that has been simmering with the Ploughman now erupts into a revolution joined by thousands and thousands of peasants.
    — Pete Hammond, Deadline, 9 Sep. 2026
Definition of erupts
Verb
  • Why the dead girl’s computer glows with an unnatural brightness whenever the lights turn off?
    — David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 10 Sep. 2026
  • At night, the feathers light up and the whole bird glows across the playa.
    — Jim Dobson, Forbes.com, 29 Aug. 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
  • Lois and Billy were childhood sweethearts and had been in a relationship since the age of 16.
    — Stuart James, New York Times, 11 Sep. 2026
  • The couple were high school sweethearts who married in 2013 and had three children together, family members told KTIV.
    — Samira Asma-Sadeque, PEOPLE, 4 Sep. 2026
Definition of sweethearts
Verb
  • 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
  • Calmer winds and cooler temperatures assisted fire crews in their battle against the Spokane blazes Monday, but temperature are anticipated to climb back into the 90s by Wednesday and continue to push firefighters to their limits.
    — Clara Harter, Los Angeles Times, 4 Aug. 2026
Definition of blazes
Verb
  • Directed by Venice prize-winner John Swab, Copperhead‘s plot is thrust into motion when an undercover drug deal explodes into violence.
    — Matt Grobar, Deadline, 8 Sep. 2026
  • That explodes into action in one startlingly seedy scene involving a rape in full view of revelers at a hotel party.
    — Beatrice Loayza, Variety, 30 Aug. 2026
Definition of explodes

Phrases Containing flames

Browse Nearby Words

flamers
flames
flames out
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Flames.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/flames. Accessed 14 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of empirical

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary

Words from the 'Odyssey'

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of
See More

Popular

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
funny guinea pig in glasses reading a book
Challenging Words You Should Know Vol 2 Words to the wise
See All