ENKINDLE Synonyms: 50 Similar and Opposite Words

enkindle

verb

in-ˈkin-dᵊl

Definition of enkindle

as in to burn

to set (something) on fire see if you can enkindle some paper in the fireplace while I look for logs

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Recent Examples of Synonyms for enkindle

Verb

The house took eight years to build on the property where the couple’s previous home burned during the 2018 Woolsey fire, along with Albuquerque’s studio, archive and many of her paintings.

— Jane Horowitz, Los Angeles Times, 13 Oct. 2026
The wall's stonework showed signs of fire damage, while archaeologists also uncovered burned seeds and the remains of a charred wooden building nearby.

— Andrea Margolis, FOXNews.com, 13 Oct. 2026

Definition of burn

Verb

In modern nuclear weapons, conventional explosives set off a fission reaction—the splitting of big atoms—whose intensity then ignites a fusion reaction that combines light atoms.

— Sarah Scoles, Scientific American, 20 Oct. 2026
When the tin fog is ignited, the explosion produces a plasma fifty times hotter than the surface of the sun.

— Gideon Lewis-Kraus, New Yorker, 19 Oct. 2026

Definition of ignite

Verb

The Norte fire — the most devastating blaze — scorched more than 570 acres in residential neighborhoods in San Clemente and San Juan Capistrano, damaging or destroying at least six homes.

— Tony Briscoe, Los Angeles Times, 17 Oct. 2026
That was the update last week at a meeting of the Venus Exploration Analysis Group (VEXAG), a confab of scientists whose research interests focus on the scorching world just sunward from Earth.

— Stephen Clark, ArsTechnica, 14 Oct. 2026

Definition of scorch

Verb

The news has inflamed debate over the British government’s unprecedented decision to use terrorism powers to ban a group primarily known for property damage and disruption.

— Miranda Jeyaretnam, Time, 15 Oct. 2026
After two months of migraines, Dominik said, the pain eased, but his face felt inflamed.

— Amy Maxmen, Miami Herald, 15 Oct. 2026

Definition of inflame

Verb

Fantastic, illumined by periodic excursions into surrealism, as when the crew of a mysterious UFO boards a transpacific Kahuna Airlines jet midflight.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 9 Apr. 2026
Geraldine walked over to Felix and Jane’s for fish soup, through long autumn shadows in the park, haze rising like smoke from the grass, illumined by the low sun.

— Tessa Hadley, New Yorker, 25 Jan. 2026

Definition of illumine

Verb

If Mick hadn’t come cruising into that playground, lights off?

— George Saunders, New Yorker, 18 Oct. 2026
Rather than lighting an entire room, try task lighting like reading lamps, under-the-cabinet light strips, and desk lamps that illuminate a workspace.

— Karen Brewer Grossman, Southern Living, 17 Oct. 2026

Definition of light

Verb

Martin Zummach, an attorney who represents the officer who fired the shot that killed Kohen, says the attorney general's findings cleared his client of criminal wrongdoing.

— SOPHIE BATES, Arkansas Online, 20 Oct. 2026
As neurons fire furiously over the course of the day, ROS can accumulate.

— Rowan Jacobsen, Scientific American, 20 Oct. 2026

Definition of fire

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.

Browse Nearby Words

enjoys

enkindle

enkindled

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“Enkindle.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/enkindle. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of enkindle

verb

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