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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Recent Examples of smoldered
The Griselda actress smoldered in a bright red strapless gown with a plunging sweetheart neckline, a corset-style bodice, and a form-fitting silhouette that subtly flared out into a mermaid design around her knees.
—
Lara Walsh, InStyle, 12 Jan. 2026
Richards, who was married to actor Charlie Sheen at the time of her Playboy cover, smoldered for the camera while standing on a black spiral staircase in her nostalgic Halloween look.
—Edward Segarra, USA Today, 3 Nov. 2025
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
Lara Walsh, InStyle, 12 Jan. 2026
Richards, who was married to actor Charlie Sheen at the time of her Playboy cover, smoldered for the camera while standing on a black spiral staircase in her nostalgic Halloween look.
—Edward Segarra, USA Today, 3 Nov. 2025
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for smoldered
Verb
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Whereas questions on doping were encouraged a decade ago, as the sport sought to cleanse its image, enquiries on the topic are much more likely to be rebuffed and snarled at.—
Chris Marshall-Bell,
New York Times,
26 Feb. 2026
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The storm snarled travel at airports and on the roads, breaking records in Providence, Rhode Island, and Islip, New York.—
Christopher Cann,
USA Today,
23 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Pronouncements blazed forth from him but evanesced, leaving only contrails.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
13 Feb. 2026
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Her upset blazed the way for Hernandez and Soto-Martínez in 2022 and fellow DSAer Ysabel Jurado in 2024.—
Gustavo Arellano,
Los Angeles Times,
9 Feb. 2026
Verb
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The decision to free the now 64-year-old Funston on elderly parole angered his victims and the local authorities who put him away more than 25 years ago.—
Darrell Smith,
Sacbee.com,
24 Feb. 2026
-
Brown has been particularly angered by the revelations and has been helping police with their inquiries.—
Pan Pylas,
Los Angeles Times,
23 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Georgia burned an early timeout after Texas post players Breya Cunningham and Justice Carlton both scored four points apiece.—
Danny Davis,
Austin American Statesman,
27 Feb. 2026
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The Palisades Fire burned more than 23,000 acres of land in the Pacific Palisades, Malibu and the Santa Monica mountains.—
Julie Sharp,
CBS News,
27 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Gavin Brindley and Cale Makar both snapped goal-scoring droughts and the Avs grinded out a 3-1 win against the Chicago Blackhawks.—
Corey Masisak,
Denver Post,
1 Mar. 2026
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The Lakers snapped a three-game losing streak overall and a three-game skid on the road with just their third win in the last eight — and also third in eight on the road against the Pacific Division this season.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
1 Mar. 2026
Verb
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As Tom Cruise climbed to the edge of the atmosphere at hypersonic speeds, Fields pointed at the edges of the plane’s black metal, which glowed orange.—
Sasha Richie,
Dallas Morning News,
27 Feb. 2026
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For three days, leaders of the Seminole, Miccosukee, Tallahassee, and Creek Indians gathered in the surrounding woods, until a hundred blazes glowed like votive candles under the canopies.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
23 Feb. 2026
Verb
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They can be steamed, boiled, or fried, and are commonly eaten in Asian cuisine.—
Angelica Bottaro,
Verywell Health,
26 Feb. 2026
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The showstopper was a two-and-a-half-pound horsehair crab, one of the glories of Hokkaido's coastal waters, presented whole and then steamed and shelled.—
Alex Halberstadt,
Condé Nast Traveler,
25 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Candlelight flickered against vibrant tanzanite, sky blue topaz and canary yellow diamonds on Tuesday night at Sunset Tower Hotel, where Pomellato gathered brand ambassadors and celebrity stylists to mark the reopening of its Beverly Hills flagship, unveiled in October.—
Ryma Chikhoune,
Footwear News,
11 Feb. 2026
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Officers captured the scene using a drone, which showed the man balancing on the unicycle as flames flickered just feet from passing vehicles.—
Jasmine Baehr,
FOXNews.com,
8 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Smoldered.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/smoldered. Accessed 2 Mar. 2026.
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