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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But a computer outage that snarled airlines nationwide forced Kerkering to change his flight back to Philadelphia.—
Matt Gelb,
New York Times,
4 Feb. 2026
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Temperatures were plummeting as tens of thousands of homes and businesses remained without power from a blast of snow and ice last weekend that snarled traffic, knocked down trees and caused more than 100 deaths.—
Kristin M. Hall,
Los Angeles Times,
31 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Caglianone blazed through the minor leagues with viral home runs and unmatched potential.—
Jaylon Thompson,
Kansas City Star,
7 Feb. 2026
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The Arab Spring uprisings reached Syria in 2011 and blazed up into civil war.—
Robert F. Worth,
The Atlantic,
6 Feb. 2026
Verb
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The remark angered lawmakers on both sides of the aisle at the time, and it was quickly walked back.—
Kaitlyn Schallhorn,
Oc Register,
26 Jan. 2026
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Opposition to the war grew in Australia along with the Palestinian death toll, and last September the government angered Israeli leaders by supporting other like-minded Western nations, including Canada and the United Kingdom, by formally recognizing Palestinian statehood.—
Oscar Holland,
CNN Money,
22 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Cell phone records revealed On Thursday, cell phone records were revealed along with new clues after investigators found her car burned to nothing but metal and ash.—
Erika Stanish,
CBS News,
6 Feb. 2026
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The vast majority of his sketches were lost over time, some burnt by Michelangelo himself, others destroyed by early collectors or simply during the process of his work, Christie’s said.—
Issy Ronald,
CNN Money,
6 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Ari Long made four three-pointers while scoring 16 points to lead the Ducks (18-8, 6-7), who had a four-game winning streak snapped.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
9 Feb. 2026
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Photographers snapped a shot of Robert and Jane jointly holding the letter and looking at each other.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
8 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Amal glowed in a frilly lace dress next to her husband at the Wolfs Venice Film Festival premiere in 2024, which saw Brad Pitt and George reunite on-screen for the first time since 2012's 8.—
Alex Apatoff,
PEOPLE,
4 Feb. 2026
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West Hollywood glowed a little pinker for one night only.—
Ryma Chikhoune,
Footwear News,
4 Feb. 2026
Verb
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The windows steamed with the warmth of the revelry inside.—
Rachel Bernhard,
jsonline.com,
29 Jan. 2026
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In recent weeks, as Indiana steamed toward the national-title game, Cuban gave even more.—
Keith O’Brien,
The Atlantic,
17 Jan. 2026
Verb
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In reality, whatever magic had briefly flickered tended to vanish just as quickly.—
Greg Engle,
Forbes.com,
20 Jan. 2026
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Streetlights flickered before large parts of the city were plunged into darkness, as a thick fog settled over the streets and temperatures plummeted to –5 degrees Celsius (23 degrees Fahrenheit).—
Kosta Gak,
CNN Money,
9 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Smoldered.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/smoldered. Accessed 10 Feb. 2026.
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