variants
or smouldered
1
as in burnt
to be excited or emotionally stirred up with anger
She smoldered when first learning of her son's misbehavior at school, but had calmed down by the time he arrived home.
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2
as in blazed
to be on fire usually with smoke but few flames
They look forward to those long summer nights telling stories beside a smoldering campfire.
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Recent Examples of smoldered
A week later the same fire, which had likely smoldered underground, reemerged and became known as the Palisades Fire.
—
Tom Tapp, Deadline, 15 Oct. 2025
Authorities have arrested 29-year-old Jonathan Rinderknecht, accusing him of purposefully igniting a New Year’s Day fire that smoldered for days and later exploded into the deadly Palisades Fire that devastated California.
—Sarah Rumpf-Whitten, FOXNews.com, 8 Oct. 2025
Jonathan Rinderknecht, a 29-year-old man accused of setting the most destructive blaze in Los Angeles history, likely used a lighter to start a small fire on New Year’s Day that smoldered underground for days before reigniting in high winds and killing 12 people, federal authorities said Wednesday.
—Gabe Whisnant, MSNBC Newsweek, 8 Oct. 2025
The fire smoldered for a week before reigniting under heavy winds and growing into the Palisades Fire.
—Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 8 Oct. 2025
Some buildings still smoldered from the fires of the day before, and soldiers carrying rifles enforced a nationwide curfew.
—Lex Harvey, CNN Money, 10 Sep. 2025
Throughout the 2000s, the actor smoldered on series like Dawson's Creek (2001–2002), and One Tree Hill (2003–2012), not to mention the films A Cinderella Story (2004) and House of Wax (2005).
—Mekishana Pierre, EW.com, 1 Sep. 2025
The cause and aftermath of the explosions remain under investigation by state and federal agencies, but questions of improper permitting and licensing, and the appearance of local conflicts of interest, began surfacing as the remnants of the property still smoldered.
—Ethan Wolin, Sacbee.com, 7 Aug. 2025
Tom Tapp, Deadline, 15 Oct. 2025
Authorities have arrested 29-year-old Jonathan Rinderknecht, accusing him of purposefully igniting a New Year’s Day fire that smoldered for days and later exploded into the deadly Palisades Fire that devastated California.
—Sarah Rumpf-Whitten, FOXNews.com, 8 Oct. 2025
Jonathan Rinderknecht, a 29-year-old man accused of setting the most destructive blaze in Los Angeles history, likely used a lighter to start a small fire on New Year’s Day that smoldered underground for days before reigniting in high winds and killing 12 people, federal authorities said Wednesday.
—Gabe Whisnant, MSNBC Newsweek, 8 Oct. 2025
The fire smoldered for a week before reigniting under heavy winds and growing into the Palisades Fire.
—Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 8 Oct. 2025
Some buildings still smoldered from the fires of the day before, and soldiers carrying rifles enforced a nationwide curfew.
—Lex Harvey, CNN Money, 10 Sep. 2025
Throughout the 2000s, the actor smoldered on series like Dawson's Creek (2001–2002), and One Tree Hill (2003–2012), not to mention the films A Cinderella Story (2004) and House of Wax (2005).
—Mekishana Pierre, EW.com, 1 Sep. 2025
The cause and aftermath of the explosions remain under investigation by state and federal agencies, but questions of improper permitting and licensing, and the appearance of local conflicts of interest, began surfacing as the remnants of the property still smoldered.
—Ethan Wolin, Sacbee.com, 7 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for smoldered
Verb
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Traffic snarled as stop lights lie among piles of debris.—
George Solis,
NBC news,
30 Oct. 2025
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Video posted by Jamaica’s Constabulary Force in Black River, near where the eye came ashore, show snarled and downed power lines, piles of debris and many buildings completely collapsed — all on a street still covered in water.—
Jacqueline Charles,
Miami Herald,
29 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Streetlamps were ignited, and storefront windows blazed with light.—
Robert Wyss,
The Conversation,
21 Oct. 2025
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But the trail's already been blazed, other companies have cleared the path forward and proven what's possible, and the Aridge team has proven itself capable of getting things built, if not preventing them from banging together.—
Loz Blain
October 16,
New Atlas,
16 Oct. 2025
Verb
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And that angered the most important voters in New Jersey, Martha, the independents.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
2 Nov. 2025
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That loss of sales has already angered many Midwestern soybean farmers, who see the administration’s Argentina outreach as benefiting a competitor while leaving American exporters disadvantaged.—
Billal Rahman,
MSNBC Newsweek,
30 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Those videos included some featuring baby and adolescent monkeys whose genitalia were burned and cut off.—
Chris Spargo,
PEOPLE,
31 Oct. 2025
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Currently, there is no information on how much land has been burned or the size of the crew executing the prescribed fire.—
CA WILDFIRE BOT,
Sacbee.com,
30 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Earlier, the Blue Raiders snapped Watertown’s historic win streak at 103 games and handed Sandwich its only loss.—
Tom Mulherin,
Boston Herald,
29 Oct. 2025
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She was snapped next to two of her friends and in front of a few decorations for Diwali.—
Becca Longmire,
PEOPLE,
29 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Even from a boat, the gleaming white of bleached and dead corals glowed from beneath the surface.—
Alex Harris,
Miami Herald,
24 Oct. 2025
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The ground cover glowed gold and red.—
Gloria Liu,
Outside Online,
22 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Enjoy it raw or lightly steamed with olive oil, salt, and pepper for the most nutrients and best flavor.—
Carrie Madormo,
Verywell Health,
27 Oct. 2025
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News Round-Up The USA’s Under-20s steamed into the quarter-finals of the World Cup in Chile yesterday, wiping the floor with Italy.—
Phil Hay,
New York Times,
10 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Ten minutes later — now 200 feet deeper into the cave — Tim's light began to dim and then flickered out.—
Virginia Chamlee,
PEOPLE,
29 Oct. 2025
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If the flame flickered or bent, air movement was present, indicating a draft.—
Mary Cornetta,
Better Homes & Gardens,
22 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Smoldered.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/smoldered. Accessed 4 Nov. 2025.
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