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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The record was created with Shellback and Max Martin in between shows on the career-spanning Eras Tour, which lit a fire in the singer-songwriter that blazes across each of its 12 tracks.—
Rolling Stone,
Rolling Stone,
3 Oct. 2025
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Last year, dry fall weather in Southern California played a role in fueling major fires, like the Eaton and Palisades blazes, only weeks before the state’s typical period of atmospheric river storm events.—
Anna Skinner,
MSNBC Newsweek,
2 Oct. 2025
Verb
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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
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At its heart sits Viti, a striking blue crater lake that steams invitingly in contrast to the stark black landscape.—
David Nikel,
Forbes.com,
16 Aug. 2025
Verb
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Solar and wind power are growing fast and account for most of China’s clean electricity, but the country also burns enormous amounts of coal to supply power when the sun isn’t shining and the wind isn’t blowing.—
Brad Plumer,
New York Times,
22 Oct. 2025
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Set after the attacks of October 7, Y (played with slapstick elasticity by poet and playwright Ariel Bronz) pimps himself out for wild, debaucherous parties while the world burns.—
Ryan Lattanzio,
IndieWire,
21 Oct. 2025
Verb
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And nothing angers the Survivor gods more than reality TV hubris.—
Dalton Ross,
Entertainment Weekly,
2 Oct. 2025
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Kirk assassination angers and unsettles leaders, residents The assassination of Kirk, which happened in front of hundreds of people and was captured on video and widely circulated on social media, has in particular rattled the nation and drawn condemnation from across the political spectrum.—
Mark Vancleave,
Twin Cities,
13 Sep. 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 bar—made of white onyx—glows softly from within, inviting you to pull up a stool.—
Laura Itzkowitz,
Robb Report,
23 Oct. 2025
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In New York City, Emma Stone glows in green, and Maya Rudolph appears on Late Night with Seth Meyers.—
Lex Goldstein,
PEOPLE,
23 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Siran Neal has two tackles in 135 special-teams snaps.—
Cam Inman,
Mercury News,
21 Oct. 2025
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In the season’s fourth episode, Russell's character snaps at her secret service agent, who is meant to be her double and look like her, due to her very disheveled hair.—
Brian Anthony Hernandez,
PEOPLE,
19 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Her debut, Sayonara Bar, flickers around the characters frequenting a Japanese hostess lounge, while The Incarnations traces a single soul across a thousand years.—
Neil McRobert,
Vulture,
16 Oct. 2025
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The deep green glass vessel, etched with vertical lines reminiscent of towering tree trunks, shifts from khaki to warm browns and golden yellows as the flame flickers, casting a hypnotic glow that’s as enchanting as its aroma.—
Michael Stefanov,
Robb Report,
14 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Smolders.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/smolders. Accessed 1 Nov. 2025.
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