fire 1 of 2

noun

ˈfī(-ə)r How to pronounce fire (audio)
Definition of firenext
1
as in inferno
a destructive burning a number of suspicious fires in the neighborhood recently

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2
as in intensity
depth of feeling had she the fire in her heart that a run for the White House requires?

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in ordeal
a test of faith, patience, or strength asked to be sent to the front lines, as he was eager to prove himself in the fire of battle

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fire

2 of 2

verb

1
as in to shoot
to cause (a projectile) to be driven forward with force police officers firing rubber bullets

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2
as in to blast
to cause a weapon to release a missile with great force soldiers fired at the enemy in panic-stricken disorder

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3
as in to stimulate
to give life, vigor, or spirit to a school outing to the natural history museum fired his imagination, and he grew up to become an eminent paleontologist

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
4
as in to sack
to let go from office, service, or employment fired the secretary for incompetence

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
5
as in to throw
to send through the air especially with a quick forward motion of the arm fired a pass to the running back

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6
as in to burn
to set (something) on fire lit some kindling before attempting to fire the logs

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 fire
Noun
Raman, who now occupies the insurgent role in the race, seemed to see the fires less as an indictment of the system than of Bass. — Benjamin Wallace-Wells, New Yorker, 18 Oct. 2026 In a post on social media, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith expressed her gratitude to emergency workers in Alberta and from neighboring Saskatchewan for quickly responding to the fire. — Jessie Yeung, CNN Money, 18 Oct. 2026
Verb
No additional shots were fired after police arrived, Lorah said, adding that sounds later mistaken for gunfire came from flash-bang devices used by SWAT officers. — Eric MacK, FOXNews.com, 12 Oct. 2026 Making Hinds’ loss more intense and emotionally complicated was that the band had just fired him from Mastodon five months earlier. — Steve Appleford, Los Angeles Times, 12 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for fire
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fire
  1. inferno
  2. intensity
  3. ordeal
  4. shoot
  5. blast
  6. stimulate
  7. sack
  8. throw
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 intensity of their yearning has only increased on their second album, Nature’s Pill—and that’s no easy feat, considering this is a band whose breakout track opens with the narrator prostrating himself before the object of his affection.
    — Colin Joyce, Pitchfork, 14 Oct. 2026
  • But Whalefall is no match for the earlier film’s suspense and intensity.
    — David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 14 Oct. 2026
Definition of intensity
Noun
  • His ordeal would go on to become one of the most egregious examples of prosecutorial misconduct in the United States.
    — Madeleine Baran, New Yorker, 9 Oct. 2026
  • That entire ordeal is presented in detail, a backstage drama in miniature that treats the boardroom soap opera as the last chance to keep Pandora’s box shut.
    — David Fear, Rolling Stone, 6 Oct. 2026
Definition of ordeal
Verb
  • Belgal was shot by ICE Thursday, according to NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who said agents surrounded the man and a 5-year-old child in his car before firing multiple times.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 14 Oct. 2026
  • Original color photographs were scarce, since continuity stills were usually shot in black-and-white to save money.
    — Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 14 Oct. 2026
Definition of shoot
Verb
  • Tommy breaks them out by using Vision as a battering ram, but Paladin is waiting outside to blast Vision with a shotgun full of adamantium rounds.
    — Tasha Robinson, Vulture, 14 Oct. 2026
  • In a round robin of insults, Proto blasted the incumbent Democratic senator who first won election in 2022.
    — Christopher Keating, Hartford Courant, 14 Oct. 2026
Definition of blast
Verb
  • The reason progestogen is recommended in women with a uterus is because estrogen can stimulate growth of the uterine lining and increase the risk of endometrial cancer.
    — Shannon Firth, NPR, 16 Oct. 2026
  • The glasses project light onto 378 pixels in the implant, which converts those light patterns into an electrical current that stimulates the retina’s bipolar cells.
    — Erica Sweeney, Time, 15 Oct. 2026
Definition of stimulate
Verb
  • After Miami scored in the second OT period, Omar Thornton sacked Daniels on first down, forced an incompletion on second down, got FSU to commit a false start and forced another incompletion to set up fourth and 21.
    — Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald, 18 Oct. 2026
  • He was sacked five times as Texas lost consecutive regular-season games for the first time since 2021.
    — Mark Long, Chicago Tribune, 18 Oct. 2026
Definition of sack
Verb
  • Young men from the village threw stones back, Khrzhanovskiy said.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 17 Oct. 2026
  • That sudden ascent, for a band spiritually in league with the Velvet Underground and Suicide, led some to wonder what exactly happened behind the social media scenes to get them there (one conspiratorial phrase got thrown around in particular).
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 16 Oct. 2026
Definition of throw

Phrases Containing fire

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fins
fire
fire and brimstone
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Cite this Entry

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

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More from Merriam-Webster on fire

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about fire

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