as in to burn
to set (something) on fire
tried using newspapers as kindling to ignite the logs in the fireplace
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Recent Examples of ignite
Companies are relentlessly focused on building and implementing AI products that ignite performance and achieve more with less.
—
Derya Matras, Fortune, 4 Oct. 2025
Huppert delivers a commanding performance as Marianne Farrère, a wealthy heiress whose extravagant gifts to a much younger artist ignite public outrage.
—Leo Barraclough, Variety, 3 Oct. 2025
Sherrill's military records, which have ignited a privacy and ethics debate, could potentially shift the trajectory of the contest in its final weeks.
—Deputy News Editor, MSNBC Newsweek, 3 Oct. 2025
The move, sparked by expiring health benefits, ignited what could be a long bitter standoff, and ultimately furloughed hundreds of thousands of federal workers, although some workers will continue to receive pay.
—Natalie Neysa Alund, USA Today, 2 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for ignite
Derya Matras, Fortune, 4 Oct. 2025
Huppert delivers a commanding performance as Marianne Farrère, a wealthy heiress whose extravagant gifts to a much younger artist ignite public outrage.
—Leo Barraclough, Variety, 3 Oct. 2025
Sherrill's military records, which have ignited a privacy and ethics debate, could potentially shift the trajectory of the contest in its final weeks.
—Deputy News Editor, MSNBC Newsweek, 3 Oct. 2025
The move, sparked by expiring health benefits, ignited what could be a long bitter standoff, and ultimately furloughed hundreds of thousands of federal workers, although some workers will continue to receive pay.
—Natalie Neysa Alund, USA Today, 2 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for ignite
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ignite
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
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North Fire has been burning on private land.—
CA WILDFIRE BOT,
Sacbee.com,
6 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Slow-moving thunderstorms frequently unleash catastrophic downpours over the South Fork burn scar, a region still reeling from two fires that scorched over 15,000 acres and destroyed 1,400 structures.—
Alaa Elassar,
CNN Money,
1 Oct. 2025
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My throat was scorched, my tongue was swollen — and the acid would not stop coming.—
Jack Korngold,
Rolling Stone,
28 Sep. 2025
Verb
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That whole environment re-lit something in me.—
Clayton Davis,
Variety,
3 Oct. 2025
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The record was created with Shellback and Max Martin in between shows on the career-spanning Eras Tour, which lit a fire in the singer-songwriter that blazes across each of its 12 tracks.—
Rolling Stone,
Rolling Stone,
3 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Putin mocked Western alarm over drone incursions into NATO airspace, and accused European nations of using them to inflame tensions.—
Alia Shoaib,
MSNBC Newsweek,
3 Oct. 2025
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In court Friday, Oregon Senior Assistant Attorney General Brian Simmonds Marshall noted the arrival of federal forces to Portland in 2020 appeared to inflame tensions.—
Elizabeth Wolfe,
CNN Money,
3 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Ignite.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ignite. Accessed 8 Oct. 2025.
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