variants
or smouldered
1
as in snarled
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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Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of smoldered
Prosecutors say the blaze allegedly started by Rinderknecht smoldered underground for days before exploding into the wildfire that killed 12 people, destroyed thousands of structures across Los Angeles County, and burned more than 23,000 acres.
—
Kaelan Deese,
The Washington Examiner,
26 June 2026
Prosecutors said the Lachman fire smoldered underground for a week before exploding into the deadly Palisades fire.
—
Brittny Mejia,
Los Angeles Times,
25 June 2026
In 2024, a Lineage facility in Washington state caught fire and smoldered for two months, Northwest Public Broadcasting reported.
—
Holly Yan,
CNN Money,
22 June 2026
More specifically, the ’90s chemistry queen Rene Russo, who has smoldered onscreen with everyone from Clint Eastwood and Mel Gibson to Pierce Brosnan and John Travolta.
—
Jesse Hassenger,
Entertainment Weekly,
18 June 2026
Smith beamed a luminous smile as Brosnan smoldered for the camera on the red carpet in 1995.
—
John Russell,
PEOPLE,
16 May 2026
Crews work to uncover and cool unused coal which has smoldered for 20 years near Florence, Colorado.
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Logan Smith,
CBS News,
11 Apr. 2026
Her decision to stop the publication of a 60 Minutes piece about a Salvadoran prison that had been cleared by others at the network sparked an internal fire that smoldered for weeks until the story eventually aired.
—
Max Tani,
semafor.com,
30 Mar. 2026
For about a week, the fire smoldered at low intensity, doing its work on a patch of roughly 120 acres.
—
New York Times,
16 Mar. 2026
Kaelan Deese,
The Washington Examiner,
26 June 2026
Prosecutors said the Lachman fire smoldered underground for a week before exploding into the deadly Palisades fire.
—
Brittny Mejia,
Los Angeles Times,
25 June 2026
In 2024, a Lineage facility in Washington state caught fire and smoldered for two months, Northwest Public Broadcasting reported.
—
Holly Yan,
CNN Money,
22 June 2026
More specifically, the ’90s chemistry queen Rene Russo, who has smoldered onscreen with everyone from Clint Eastwood and Mel Gibson to Pierce Brosnan and John Travolta.
—
Jesse Hassenger,
Entertainment Weekly,
18 June 2026
Smith beamed a luminous smile as Brosnan smoldered for the camera on the red carpet in 1995.
—
John Russell,
PEOPLE,
16 May 2026
Crews work to uncover and cool unused coal which has smoldered for 20 years near Florence, Colorado.
—
Logan Smith,
CBS News,
11 Apr. 2026
Her decision to stop the publication of a 60 Minutes piece about a Salvadoran prison that had been cleared by others at the network sparked an internal fire that smoldered for weeks until the story eventually aired.
—
Max Tani,
semafor.com,
30 Mar. 2026
For about a week, the fire smoldered at low intensity, doing its work on a patch of roughly 120 acres.
—
New York Times,
16 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for smoldered
Verb
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The incident snarled traffic on the busy interstate during the evening commute.
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Traffic was snarled on Interstate 70 and other key arteries because of some combination of vague signage on parking passes or apps, accidents earlier in the afternoon, the lack of dedicated lanes for the bus system — why oh why couldn’t that be achieved in the master plan?
Verb
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The American experiment blazed a new path, and with great risk.
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One more sustainable path has been blazed by such countries as the Netherlands, Ireland, Chile, Australia, and Singapore.
Verb
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They also have been angered by Kennedy’s attempts to link vaccines to autism, going against decades of research that show no such link, and his framing of autism as a debilitating disease.
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They've also been angered by Kennedy's attempts to link vaccines to autism, going against decades of research that show no such link, and his framing of autism as a debilitating disease.
Verb
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The wildfire had burned across an area of 30,000 acres by Sunday, information from the European Union’s Copernicus satellite mapping agency showed.
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When the Ku Klux Klan burned crosses on the lawn of other beach neighbors, the only Jewish family in town, my dad tracked down the local Klan leader and told him to back off, or else.
Verb
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Farage snapped when questioned about the gift on a LBC radio show this week.
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Miami had its four-game win streak snapped despite an impressive outing by Tyler Phillips (1-3), who gave up two runs on six hits with no walks and one strikeout through 7 1/3 innings.
Verb
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Instead of captivating burst of fireworks on display, the bridge glowed with hues of greens, yellows, reds and more.
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Gomez wore her brunette hair in a chic updo and glowed with rosy blush and a smokey eye.
Verb
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The French capital is in the midst of a heat wave — the day of the show was the city’s hottest ever June day, until Wednesday eclipsed it — and the model’s toes steamed inside the oblong footwear.
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But don’t miss the crispy duck and walnut, and matsutake steamed chicken at the equally satisfying but more casual Yunnan specialty restaurant, Horizon.
Verb
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Her heart hammered away, her eyes flickered, and her voice grew tiny and plaintive.
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SportsCenter flickered on several televisions.
Cite this Entry
“Smoldered.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/smoldered. Accessed 6 Jul. 2026.
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