Synonyms of smolder

smolder

verb

variants or smoulder

1

as in to anger

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.

Related Words

• anger
• snarl
• steam
• burn
• snap
• seethe
• foam
• storm
• sputter
• flare (up)
• rage
• blow up
• flip (out)
• vent
• fume
• bristle
• tee off
• vituperate
• fulminate
• bluster
• rant
• rave
• carry on
• stew
• take on
• rampage
• chafe
• fret

Dissimilar Words

• contain
• suppress
• soothe
• check
• restrain
• allay
• collect
• appease
• curb
• stifle
• compose
• subdue
• swallow
• tone (down)
• repress
• temper
• choke (back)
• strangle
• pacify
• smother
• moderate
• relax
• ease
• rein
• cool
• settle
• calm
• quell
• quiet
• pocket
• hush
• still
• let up

2

as in to blaze

to be on fire usually with smoke but few flames

They look forward to those long summer nights telling stories beside a smoldering campfire.

Related Words

• blaze
• burn
• flame
• glow
• flicker
• combust
• ignite
• sputter
• spark
• fire
• sparkle
• kindle
• glisten
• char
• enkindle
• melt
• light (up)
• roast
• scorch
• waver
• catch
• deflagrate
• cook
• gleam
• bake
• flare (up)
• shimmer
• broil
• radiate
• twinkle
• brighten
• beam
• shine
• beat (down)
• swelter
• glitter
• flash
• glare
• gutter
• glimmer
• scintillate
• glint

Dissimilar Words

• extinguish
• dim
• darken

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of smolder

Pine trees coat the forest floor with mounds of flammable dead leaves that are springy underfoot but which can smolder long after a blaze. — ABC News, 31 July 2026

Nils Seval is a surf instructor, but this week he's been spraying down flareups that emerge from blazes still smoldering underground even in areas where big flames have been extinguished. — CBS News, 30 July 2026

Photographer Sergen Sezgin captured one such scene firsthand, as the moon rose over a smouldering hillside close to the Turkish city of Balıkesir, a few hundred miles south of Tekirdağ. — Anthony Wood, Space.com, 30 July 2026

When smoldering tensions over Texas flared into the Mexican-American War in 1846, the Bear Flag Revolt was launched. — Literary Hub, 29 July 2026