variants
or smoulders
1
as in snarls
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 blazes
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
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Recent Examples of smolders
Throughout the compilation of clips, Kristy smiles and smolders in the mirror while using a bottle of the luxury brand's Libre Berry Crush perfume.
—
Zoey Lyttle, PEOPLE, 27 Jan. 2026
Blood orange and saffron ignite the air, myrrh smolders beneath, and the woods hum with market heat.
—Adam Hurly, Robb Report, 16 Oct. 2025
Zoey Lyttle, PEOPLE, 27 Jan. 2026
Blood orange and saffron ignite the air, myrrh smolders beneath, and the woods hum with market heat.
—Adam Hurly, Robb Report, 16 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for smolders
Verb
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Beyond the red tape that snarls any new apartment, condominiums confront an additional hurdle.—
M. Nolan Gray,
The Atlantic,
13 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Low toward the west blazes Venus, which serves as a convenient celestial landmark to make a sighting of Mercury, which will be hovering not far from it.—
Joe Rao,
Space.com,
2 Mar. 2026
-
Jesse steps up on the mound and blazes the ball past him.—
Gail Sheehy,
Vanity Fair,
20 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Nothing steams football fans quite like NBC Sports broadcaster Cris Collinsworth praising Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes.—
Pete Grathoff,
Kansas City Star,
6 Feb. 2026
-
Then, Lim steams the breastmilk in an espresso machine before adding the matcha into the drink.—
Hannah Sacks,
PEOPLE,
15 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Your former and now our vice president burns me up.—
Hannah Demissie,
ABC News,
22 Mar. 2026
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The plant in the Ottawa County community just west of Grand Rapids has operated since 1962 and burns nearly 13,000 tons of coal every day to provide energy to people all across Michigan.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
20 Mar. 2026
Verb
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LaCava said the change seems like another city policy that angers many residents without major impact.—
David Garrick,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
25 Feb. 2026
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What angers me is thinking about what could have been.—
Caroline Blair,
PEOPLE,
12 Dec. 2025
Verb
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Trump seethes with hatred and erupts in volcanic fury to denounce, demonize, disparage and threaten anyone who refuses to support his increasingly irrational and harmful proposals and actions.—
Washington Post,
Washington Post,
2 Feb. 2026
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The river tumbles and seethes through 278 miles of Grand Canyon National Park, taking its geologic time in carving a trench now deeper than a mile.—
Brandon Loomis,
AZCentral.com,
15 Dec. 2025
Verb
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The robot carries a hose that glows in dark, smoky environments.—
Kurt Knutsson,
FOXNews.com,
17 Mar. 2026
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Behind them, Guardian Angel Catholic Church in East Hollywood glows with worn blue plaster walls against the SoCal golden-hour sun.—
Isabela Raygoza,
Billboard,
13 Mar. 2026
Verb
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And every six weeks, my friend visits a professional who snaps on a pair of plastic gloves, mixes up a strong chemical concoction personalized especially for her, and spreads it all over her scalp.—
Valerie Monroe,
Allure,
25 Mar. 2026
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Hampton played a career-high 65% of the Rams’ special-teams snaps last season, producing 10 tackles.—
Mike Kaye
March 20,
Charlotte Observer,
20 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Smolders.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/smolders. Accessed 30 Mar. 2026.
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