Synonyms of smoldering

smoldering 1 of 2

adjective

variants or smouldering

as in flickering

being on fire with no visible flames but often with much smoke

All that was left of the campfire were smoldering embers.

Related Words

• flickering
• burning
• glowing
• flaming
• charred
• burned
• flaring
• blazing
• aglow
• live
• fiery
• ignited
• lit
• aflame
• inflamed
• afire
• scorching
• kindled
• searing
• sizzling
• roasting
• alight
• combusting
• broiling
• scorched
• red-hot
• ablaze
• conflagrant
• scalding
• hot
• piping hot
• singed
• seared
• incinerated

Dissimilar Words

• dead
• extinguished
• smothered
• stamped (out)
• choked
• quenched
• damped
• snuffed (out)
• suffocated
• doused

smoldering

2 of 2

verb

variants or smouldering

present participle of smolder

1

as in snarling

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

• snarling
• steaming
• burning
• snapping
• seething
• angering
• storming
• foaming
• raging
• sputtering
• flaring (up)
• bristling
• venting
• fuming
• flipping (out)
• rampaging
• blowing up
• fulminating
• vituperating
• blustering
• raving
• teeing off
• ranting
• carrying on
• stewing
• taking on
• fretting
• chafing

Dissimilar Words

• soothing
• containing
• suppressing
• checking
• collecting
• curbing
• restraining
• stifling
• smothering
• composing
• swallowing
• choking (back)
• repressing
• subduing
• strangling
• pacifying
• appeasing
• tempering
• allaying
• moderating
• cooling
• relaxing
• reining
• pocketing
• easing
• settling
• calming
• quieting
• toning (down)
• quelling
• letting up
• stilling
• hushing

2

as in blazing

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

• blazing
• burning
• flaming
• glowing
• flickering
• sputtering
• combusting
• igniting
• sparkling
• glistening
• sparking
• kindling
• gleaming
• firing
• charring
• shimmering
• melting
• scorching
• enkindling
• roasting
• glittering
• lighting (up)
• cooking
• wavering
• baking
• sweltering
• catching
• broiling
• deflagrating
• shining
• flaring (up)
• twinkling
• radiating
• glimmering
• glaring
• flashing
• beaming
• beating (down)
• brightening
• scintillating
• glinting
• guttering

Dissimilar Words

• extinguishing
• darkening
• dimming

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of smoldering

Adjective

Casting two of the most smoldering contemporary actors on the planet clearly stacks the deck, and carries on the long tradition of pairing a dashing figure of brooding handsomeness (Laurence Olivier, Ralph Fiennes) with a breathless screen beauty (Merle Oberon, Juliette Binoche). — David Fear, Rolling Stone, 11 Feb. 2026

Verb

The planes are equipped to locate fires, including small or smoldering fires that might otherwise go undetected, and provide incident commanders with aerial intelligence to help guide firefighting operations. — Brian Maass, CBS News, 3 Nov. 2026

Since May 2022, garbage has been smoldering deep underground, releasing toxic fumes into nearby communities of Castaic and Valverde. — Tony Briscoe, Los Angeles Times, 30 Oct. 2026

Prior to this series of incidents, police had found a smoldering car at a different location earlier that morning, Cleveland 19 reported. — Samira Asma-Sadeque, PEOPLE, 30 Oct. 2026

American educational history is overflowing with abuse, segregation, substandard structures, and smoldering scorn. — Kamau Bobb october 21, Literary Hub, 21 Oct. 2026

After two steadying years in the Marine Corps, McQueen made his way back to New York City with a chip on his shoulder and a smoldering anger masked by surprisingly boyish charm and boundless energy. — Hadley Hall Meares, Vanity Fair, 20 Oct. 2026

Colonel Brandon Herbert Nordrum Nordrum plays Colonel Brandon as a sad, hopeless yet smoldering sleeper suitor who can’t take his eyes off of Marianne. — Reshma Gopaldas, IndieWire, 19 Oct. 2026

The blaze was just under a square mile (2 square kilometers) and 5% contained Saturday, when firefighters were still dousing water on smoldering debris from a home that burned. — ABC News, 17 Oct. 2026

With little notice, a new outbreak could go from smoldering to explosive, or a virus only a coterie of experts cared about — think Zika — could become a global crisis. — Andrew Joseph, STAT, 13 Oct. 2026