inflaming 1 of 2

adjective

variants also enflaming
as in hostile

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inflaming

2 of 2

verb

variants also enflaming
present participle of inflame
1
as in angering
to make angry the newspaper editorial inflamed her enough to inspire her to dash off a letter to the editor

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in burning
to set (something) on fire a carelessly tossed cigarette inflamed the papers in the trash can

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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 inflaming
Verb
Anthropic updates its policies to bar users being cruel to Claude, inflaming a debate about whether the company’s concern for ‘model welfare’ is wise. — Jeremy Kahn, Fortune, 13 Oct. 2026 Relying on remote technical collection could also avoid inflaming opposition by field officers who may not be prepared to take great personal risks to help the private sector. — David S. Cohen, Foreign Affairs, 8 Oct. 2026 The gendered backlash spilled offline into a recent council meeting and is inflaming political divisions within College Park. — Aj Willingham, AJC.com, 22 Sep. 2026 After a stabbing in Southport, England, in 2024, viral posts falsely claiming that the suspect was a Muslim and an undocumented migrant spread rapidly to millions via X and other platforms, inflaming the riots that ensued. — Anne Applebaum, The Atlantic, 14 Sep. 2026 This incident continued to come up all season, dividing the group and inflaming the relationship between the Bookos and married couple Janet and Jason Caperna. — Kate Aurthur, Variety, 2 Sep. 2026 Chad Gable spent much of last year recovering from surgery after inflaming lucha libre fans with his El Grande Americano gimmick. — Alfred Konuwa, Forbes.com, 3 Aug. 2026 Containing Iran’s influence without inflaming a domestic front appears to be the priority. — Mohammed Sergie, semafor.com, 15 June 2026 Footage of an activist being dragged away from the development went viral, further inflaming public opposition. — Emmet Lyons, CBS News, 6 June 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for inflaming
  1. hostile
  2. angering
  3. burning
  4. riling
  5. infuriating
  6. igniting
  7. maddening
  8. enraging
Adjective
  • That night, Lee goes to Ginger’s house to tell her what happened — about his hostile showdown with the rupidoop, about Brawny Dude With the Butter Candies checking out Lee’s van in the Boontill parking lot.
    — Amanda Whiting, Vulture, 15 Oct. 2026
  • The trip to Leeds is another daunting assignment for United in what is usually a hostile atmosphere.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 15 Oct. 2026
Definition of hostile
Verb
  • Raising taxes and reducing government spending are part of a potential solution, but those would be politically unpopular decisions that could risk further angering an already livid public.
    — David Goldman, CNN Money, 20 Oct. 2026
  • South Korea has accused Ukraine of violating a nondisclosure agreement, but Ukraine denies the countries reached such a deal, further angering Seoul.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 20 Oct. 2026
Definition of angering
Verb
  • Israeli settlers attacked at least eight Palestinian villages in the West Bank, burning cars and olive trees and beating residents as the annual harvest got underway.
    — Sam Metz, Los Angeles Times, 16 Oct. 2026
  • Additional videos from the scene show a man with a bloodied face after the attack, as well as flame pouring out of a burning car with Palestinian license plates.
    — Oren Liebermann, CNN Money, 16 Oct. 2026
Definition of burning
Adjective
  • The only thing more riling than a referee’s interference in a sports event is a politician’s.
    — Sally Jenkins, The Atlantic, 6 July 2026
Definition of riling
Verb
  • Cummings said that in January 2021, a friend of Birchmore’s called Stoughton police and told a dispatcher about the illicit relationship, infuriating Farwell.
    — Faith Karimi, CNN Money, 9 Oct. 2026
  • His laserlike focus on the particulars of the story doesn’t leave much room for extrapolation; even the infuriating case of bureaucratic overreach that the film depicts can easily be understood, and perhaps even defended, as an aberration.
    — Justin Chang, New Yorker, 8 Oct. 2026
Definition of infuriating
Verb
  • Containment on the Bryson fire, which has scorched 147 acres near Encinal Canyon Road since igniting on Thursday, increased to 52% Saturday morning.
    — Hannah Fry, Los Angeles Times, 17 Oct. 2026
  • Another wildfire to the south has burned more than 3,000 acres near the Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton since igniting Thursday afternoon, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire).
    — Eduardo Cuevas, CNN Money, 16 Oct. 2026
Definition of igniting
Adjective
  • As an emergency physician, what is so maddening about a case like hers is that the medicine is not mysterious.
    — Dara Kass, Washington Post, 9 Oct. 2026
  • Capable of flashes of brilliance, but with maddening periods of inconsistency.
    — Ian Miller OutKick, FOXNews.com, 30 Sep. 2026
Definition of maddening
Verb
  • The administration removed hundreds of trees from the East Potomac Golf Links over the weekend, enraging the judge.
    — Julia Boehning, The Hill, 14 Oct. 2026
  • Unbearably painful and enraging for the one, surely pretty darn awkward for the other.
    — Gil Kaufman, Billboard, 13 Oct. 2026
Definition of enraging

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inflaming
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Cite this Entry

“Inflaming.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/inflaming. Accessed 21 Oct. 2026.

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