as in provocative
tending to excite political disorder or insurrection the restless crowd was stirred up by the inflammatory rhetoric

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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 inflammatory As more people battle screen fatigue, environmental stressors, and inflammatory conditions, a surprising number of dry eye treatments are doubling as skin boosters, offering benefits well beyond the blink. Julie Loffredi, Forbes.com, 5 May 2025 Excess fat – particularly the tissue that surrounds the internal organs – is metabolically active, producing inflammatory molecules, altering hormone levels and impairing insulin signaling. Jesse Pines, Forbes.com, 10 May 2025 This chronic inflammatory skin condition, which causes a loss of pigmentation (color), can occur in people with ulcerative colitis. Sherri Gordon, Health, 9 May 2025 Pritzker’s inflammatory speech fostered a toxic environment, evident when a speaker likened me and Moms for Liberty to executed Nazi propagandist Julius Streicher, as noted in our X post on April 28. Naperville Sun, Chicago Tribune, 9 May 2025 See All Example Sentences for inflammatory
Recent Examples of Synonyms for inflammatory
Adjective
  • As an odd sort of ethnography, though, the study tells a provocative story.
    Michael Pollan, New Yorker, 19 May 2025
  • These sparks can take many forms, such as a provocative article, a keynote speech that challenges conventional thinking, a compelling podcast interview or even a viral social media post.
    John Knotts, Forbes.com, 19 May 2025
Adjective
  • Tarrio was convicted of seditious conspiracy for his role in the Jan. 6 attack and sentenced to 22 years in prison.
    Tom Dreisbach, NPR, 21 May 2025
  • Enrique Tarrio, who was facing 22 years in prison after being convicted of seditious conspiracy in connection with Jan. 6, was among the hundreds of rioters who were granted pardons by Trump.
    Hannah Parry, MSNBC Newsweek, 5 May 2025
Adjective
  • The comments online and TV were a major escalation of Fine’s already incendiary rhetoric on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that has raged since October 2023, when an attack on Israel by the terrorist group Hamas killed 1,195 people.
    Steven Lemongello, The Orlando Sentinel, 22 May 2025
  • In discussing the Afrikaners, Trump will encourage Ramaphosa's government to condemn what the White House official described as incendiary rhetoric against them by politicians.
    Bart Jansen, USA Today, 22 May 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Inflammatory.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/inflammatory. Accessed 30 May. 2025.

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