SMOLDER Synonyms: 103 Similar and Opposite Words

smolder

verb

variants or smoulder

Definition of smolder

as in to anger

to be excited or emotionally stirred up with anger She smoldered when first learning of her son's misbehavior at school, but had calmed down by the time he arrived home.

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Dissimilar Words

as in to blaze

to be on fire usually with smoke but few flames They look forward to those long summer nights telling stories beside a smoldering campfire.

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Dissimilar Words

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 smolder Officials could not immediately identify the fatal fire victim, who was found dead inside the smoldering apartment. — Rocco Parascandola, New York Daily News, 23 Sep. 2026 Oklahoma County commissioners are asking the State Auditor & Inspector's Office for a two-stage investigative audit of accounting errors reported by the County Clerk's Office, a crisis that exploded in recent weeks after smoldering for months. — Richard Mize, Oklahoman, 18 Sep. 2026 Meet the winners of Allure’s 2026 Best of Beauty Awards in the competitive category of Eye Makeup—and get ready to smolder. — Elizabeth Siegel, Allure, 17 Sep. 2026 So here was Hynde, an American girl with a smoldering stare, and her three British male back-up musicians. — Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 14 Sep. 2026 See All Example Sentences for smolder

Recent Examples of Synonyms for smolder

Verb

No commercial goods have entered the Gaza Strip for two days, Israeli authorities said Thursday, blaming the suspension on merchants angered by taxes imposed by the militant group Hamas — a claim that Palestinian importers deny.

— Sam Metz, Los Angeles Times, 15 Oct. 2026
The dispute over the report, which tackled an issue close to Weiss, forced CBS News to delay promotion of the episode and angered Stahl, who felt compelled to defend her reporting at a late stage of production.

— Brian Steinberg, Variety, 14 Oct. 2026

Definition of anger

Verb

On July 2, 2025, a burst with energy equivalent to 1,000 suns blazing for 10 billion years lit up Fermi’s detectors, heading from a dusty galaxy about eight billion light-years from Earth.

— Robin George Andrews, Scientific American, 20 Oct. 2026
The rapper blazed through an eight-song set in 18 minutes, taking only brief pauses to shout out her backing musicians and, at one point, remark on the lack of Maryland crab cakes in her rider.

— Walden Green, Pitchfork, 19 Oct. 2026

Definition of blaze

Verb

Kerry McCoy’s guitar juices up a mid-song gallop by abruptly pivoting from big and noisy to compressed and snarling; at the climax, everything cuts out for a second to spotlight a Daniel Tracy drum fill.

— Patrick Lyons, Pitchfork, 13 Oct. 2026
Stepping into the band’s lead guitarist role was Nick Johnston, a forceful presence delivering crisp musical phrases that could be fittingly elegant or snarling.

— Steve Appleford, Los Angeles Times, 12 Oct. 2026

Definition of snarl

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

Hyderabadi Chicken Dum Biryani — steamed under a pastry crust and flavored with seasonings blended in India by Adi’s mother.

— Heidi Finley, Charlotte Observer, 15 Oct. 2026
Shawn, his parents, and the stranger were sitting around the dining table, their bowls of rice steaming before them, when the knock came.

— Rachel Heng, New Yorker, 4 Oct. 2026

Definition of steam

Verb

The flaming tower is part of a component most often known in Russian by the acronym ELOU-AVT, shorthand for an Electric Desalting and Atmospheric-Vacuum Distillation Unit.

— Jarrett Ley, Washington Post, 9 Oct. 2026
When SpaceX’s giant Starship rocket exploded over the Caribbean last year, the internet lit up with videos from airline passengers, island tourists and locals showing flaming debris shooting across the sky.

— Heather Vogell, ProPublica, 8 Oct. 2026

Definition of flame

Browse Nearby Words

smoky

smolder

smoldered

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Style

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

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Synonyms of smolder

verb

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