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
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
Advances in civil rights, economic equality, health-care access, or environmental policy have often triggered reactionary codas; since at least the end of Reconstruction, momentum toward multiracial democracy has inflamed particularly vitriolic responses.
—Danielle Amir Jackson, The Atlantic, 26 Mar. 2024
The war has further inflamed the trauma, anxiety, and depression that many in Dearborn have carried with them since 9/11.
—Eli Cahan, Rolling Stone, 7 Mar. 2024
The deadly violence surrounding an aid convoy in Gaza City — in which more than 100 people were killed after Israeli forces were accused of opening fire on a crowd of Palestinians hoping to get food — has inflamed global calls for an immediate cease-fire, including from France and Germany.
—NBC News, 3 Mar. 2024
The revelation that the photo had been altered—and the further revelation that the palace would not be releasing the unedited photo—inflamed the situation to the point that a rare apology was issued, on March 11th.
—Anna Russell, The New Yorker, 27 Mar. 2024
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
Advances in civil rights, economic equality, health-care access, or environmental policy have often triggered reactionary codas; since at least the end of Reconstruction, momentum toward multiracial democracy has inflamed particularly vitriolic responses.
—Danielle Amir Jackson, The Atlantic, 26 Mar. 2024
The war has further inflamed the trauma, anxiety, and depression that many in Dearborn have carried with them since 9/11.
—Eli Cahan, Rolling Stone, 7 Mar. 2024
The deadly violence surrounding an aid convoy in Gaza City — in which more than 100 people were killed after Israeli forces were accused of opening fire on a crowd of Palestinians hoping to get food — has inflamed global calls for an immediate cease-fire, including from France and Germany.
—NBC News, 3 Mar. 2024
The revelation that the photo had been altered—and the further revelation that the palace would not be releasing the unedited photo—inflamed the situation to the point that a rare apology was issued, on March 11th.
—Anna Russell, The New Yorker, 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 20 Apr. 2024.
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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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