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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Recent Examples of smolders
Blood orange and saffron ignite the air, myrrh smolders beneath, and the woods hum with market heat.
—
Adam Hurly, Robb Report, 16 Oct. 2025
Adam Hurly, Robb Report, 16 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for smolders
Verb
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In another, a knockout image featuring two children resting on their backs, sunlight blazes with an almost divisive intent, turning one child’s eyeglasses opaque with its glare while leaving his friend’s face in shadow.—
Dawn Chan,
New Yorker,
6 Dec. 2025
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Areas damaged by the devastating wildfires back in January have put fire-scarred hillsides from Eaton and Palisades blazes at risk of flooding and landslides.—
Charisma Madarang,
Rolling Stone,
14 Nov. 2025
Verb
-
Humidity often corrodes cables and steams camera lenses.—
IEEE Spectrum,
IEEE Spectrum,
3 Nov. 2025
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The clip then smash-cuts to a scene of Bruce as a child listening to his parents fight in the next room, and we’re meant to understand that the joy and power that steams off of the stage is a cure for the pain of childhood wounds.—
Sadie Sartini Garner,
Pitchfork,
24 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Saito burns about 7,000 calories per day and has lost 13 pounds so far.—
Kelly Meyerhofer,
jsonline.com,
4 Nov. 2025
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Unlike conventional scramjets that rely on kerosene, SPARTAN burns hydrogen, producing zero carbon emissions while enabling reusable, low-maintenance hypersonic flight.—
Kapil Kajal,
Interesting Engineering,
3 Nov. 2025
Verb
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What angers me is thinking about what could have been.—
Caroline Blair,
PEOPLE,
12 Dec. 2025
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And nothing angers the Survivor gods more than reality TV hubris.—
Dalton Ross,
Entertainment Weekly,
2 Oct. 2025
Verb
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This is why Dijon’s language works best as sound, not narrative—his rangy, raspy voice seethes and triumphs, mocks and threatens; there’s no world in which his polygonal perspective can be discerned from a lyric sheet.—
Brady Brickner-Wood,
New Yorker,
16 Aug. 2025
Verb
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The business mogul glows in a golden gown and matching accessories.—
Brittany Talarico,
PEOPLE,
4 Nov. 2025
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Dusted with snow and adorned with red berries and pine cones, each pre-lit tree glows with 130 warm white lights.—
Nora Colomer
may earn a commission if you buy through our referral links. This content was created by a team that works independently from the Fox newsroom.,
FOXNews.com,
27 Oct. 2025
Verb
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The organ is dropped on the floor and a dog in the waiting room, who'd accidentally consumed marijuana, snaps it up and runs away with it.—
Ana Calderone,
PEOPLE,
8 Nov. 2025
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And if a hundred fish come out of the water, the AI snaps pictures of that hundred fish, identifies those fish, and puts that into the package in a microsecond.—
Dan Morrison,
USA Today,
7 Nov. 2025
Verb
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Private sector confidence flickers but has not fully ignited.—
Dewardric L. McNeal,
CNBC,
31 Dec. 2025
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When Verity isn’t with someone too young for him, the two are also occasional lovers, each aware of how their attachment flickers in and out based on neediness, resentment, and actual affection.—
Jasmine Vojdani,
Vulture,
10 Dec. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Smolders.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/smolders. Accessed 10 Jan. 2026.
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