variants
or less commonly enflame
inflamed also enflamed; inflaming also enflaming
1
a
: to excite to excessive or uncontrollable action or feeling
especially
: to make angry
b
: to make more heated or violent : intensify
insults served only to inflame the feud
2
: to set on fire : kindle
3
: to cause to redden or grow hot from anger or excitement
a face inflamed with passion
4
: to cause inflammation in (bodily tissue)
1
: to burst into flame
2
: to become excited or angered
3
: to become affected with inflammation
inflamer
noun
Synonyms
Examples of inflame in a Sentence
His angry speech inflamed the mob.
ideas that inflame the imagination
His comments have inflamed an already tense situation.
inflaming the passions of the mob
a chemical that can inflame the skin
Recent Examples on the Web
Protests over the Gaza war that snarled San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge and Interstate 880 in Oakland for hours Monday inflamed tempers, led to dozens of arrests and drew a finger-wagging from Gov. Gavin Newsom.
—
Rick Hurd, The Mercury News, 19 Apr. 2024
Read More: Suffering Shouldn’t Be a Normal Part of Womanhood
For early intervention, few examples are more relevant than postpartum thyroiditis, which occurs when the immune system mistakenly attacks the thyroid gland, causing it to be inflamed.
—Maytal Eyal and Bridget Freihart, TIME, 17 Apr. 2024
Further strikes from Israel could inflame an Iran already at its limit.
—Carol E. Lee, NBC News, 14 Apr. 2024
The electric vehicle, a breakthrough achievement in automotive technology, has driven into this year’s presidential election, inflaming partisan fights that have come to define much of American culture.
—Jack Ewing, New York Times, 21 Mar. 2024
In January 2023, thousands of supporters of Bolsonaro, inflamed by rhetoric and clinging to unfounded claims of fraud, laid siege to the country’s Congress, Supreme Court and presidential office, days after the inauguration of leftist President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
—Niha Masih, Washington Post, 8 Apr. 2024
Their comments have inflamed fears among home-schooling parents that their freedom to educate their kids at home might be taken away, and that a registry might be just the first step to do that.
—Allison Torres Burtka and Hannah Dellinger, Detroit Free Press, 5 Apr. 2024
But millions of Southerners saw an army of destruction training in the night, fears inflamed by the country’s partisan newspaper networks, which spread deliberate disinformation and secessionist plots.
—Jon Grinspan, Smithsonian Magazine, 1 Apr. 2024
If anything, the investigation has only inflamed long-standing suspicions of international institutions.
—Rochelle Terman, Foreign Affairs, 27 Mar. 2024
Rick Hurd, The Mercury News, 19 Apr. 2024
Read More: Suffering Shouldn’t Be a Normal Part of Womanhood
For early intervention, few examples are more relevant than postpartum thyroiditis, which occurs when the immune system mistakenly attacks the thyroid gland, causing it to be inflamed.
—Maytal Eyal and Bridget Freihart, TIME, 17 Apr. 2024
Further strikes from Israel could inflame an Iran already at its limit.
—Carol E. Lee, NBC News, 14 Apr. 2024
The electric vehicle, a breakthrough achievement in automotive technology, has driven into this year’s presidential election, inflaming partisan fights that have come to define much of American culture.
—Jack Ewing, New York Times, 21 Mar. 2024
In January 2023, thousands of supporters of Bolsonaro, inflamed by rhetoric and clinging to unfounded claims of fraud, laid siege to the country’s Congress, Supreme Court and presidential office, days after the inauguration of leftist President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
—Niha Masih, Washington Post, 8 Apr. 2024
Their comments have inflamed fears among home-schooling parents that their freedom to educate their kids at home might be taken away, and that a registry might be just the first step to do that.
—Allison Torres Burtka and Hannah Dellinger, Detroit Free Press, 5 Apr. 2024
But millions of Southerners saw an army of destruction training in the night, fears inflamed by the country’s partisan newspaper networks, which spread deliberate disinformation and secessionist plots.
—Jon Grinspan, Smithsonian Magazine, 1 Apr. 2024
If anything, the investigation has only inflamed long-standing suspicions of international institutions.
—Rochelle Terman, Foreign Affairs, 27 Mar. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'inflame.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Inflame.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/inflame. Accessed 24 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
Medical Definition
inflame
verb
in·flame
in-ˈflām 
inflamed; inflaming
: to cause inflammation in (bodily tissue)
inflame the sinuses
: to become affected with inflammation
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