conflagration

noun

ˌkän-flə-ˈgrā-shən How to pronounce conflagration (audio)
Definition of conflagrationnext
1
as in inferno
a destructive burning the historic tavern burned to the ground in a horrible conflagration

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2
as in hostilities
a state of armed violent struggle between states, nations, or groups what began as a skirmish over disputed territory erupted into a conflagration that swept the continent

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of conflagration Across the country, climate change is ravaging ecosystems, bringing more robust storms, rising sea levels, record-setting conflagrations and fatal heat waves. — Jennifer Oldham, Denver Post, 8 Oct. 2026 Israeli left-wingers, for their part, have long held that a festering military rule over Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza, and failure to reach peace, would inevitably lead to violent conflagration. — Dahlia Scheindlin, Time, 7 Oct. 2026 The concern now is that the conflicts will intersect with the civil war in neighboring Sudan, causing a complicated, regionwide conflagration. — Alemayehu Fentaw Weldemariam, The Conversation, 29 Sep. 2026 The structures are already highly prone to conflagration due to massive electrical loads, lithium-ion batteries, and chips that run at extremely high temperatures. — Joe Wilkins, Futurism, 10 Sep. 2026 See All Example Sentences for conflagration
Recent Examples of Synonyms for conflagration
  1. inferno
  2. hostilities
  3. fire
  4. war
Noun
  • Other passengers included André Breton, Victor Serge, and Claude Lévi-Strauss—all fleeing the inferno.
    — Alex Ross, New Yorker, 12 Oct. 2026
  • Four cars and two storage containers were damaged by the inferno, the fire department said.
    — Dalia Faheid, CNN Money, 20 Sep. 2026
Definition of inferno
Noun
  • The October 2025 cease-fire plan freed the last remaining Israeli hostages and ostensibly ended hostilities, but Israel continues to constantly strike targets in Gaza, often killing civilians, including some 300 children in the past year.
    — KHALED ELGINDY, Foreign Affairs, 8 Oct. 2026
  • Some of the Middle Eastern countries still maintain interests that are driving the conflict, while other outside actors don’t seem able to muster the leverage to persuade warring parties to cease hostilities.
    — Ishaan Tharoor, New Yorker, 7 Oct. 2026
Definition of hostilities
Noun
  • In Lyon, France's third-largest city where about 20,000 protesters joined the march, a fire broke out inside a tourist office.
    — SYLVIE CORBET, Arkansas Online, 18 Oct. 2026
  • At the height of the incident, DeKalb fire crews blocked two right lanes of I-85 southbound and the entire access road next to it.
    — Doug Turnbull, AJC.com, 18 Oct. 2026
Definition of fire
Noun
  • Montanans are suffocating due to an affordability crisis, rising fuel prices and an inexplicable war.
    — David Zimmermann, The Washington Examiner, 13 Oct. 2026
  • On Monday, Zelenskyy said holding elections in Ukraine was impossible during war time, especially with new Russian tactics involving attacks day and night.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 13 Oct. 2026
Definition of war

Browse Nearby Words

conflagrant
conflagration
conflagrations
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Cite this Entry

“Conflagration.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/conflagration. Accessed 19 Oct. 2026.

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