SMOLDERS Synonyms: 103 Similar and Opposite Words

smolders

verb

variants or smoulders

present tense third-person singular of smolder

as in snarls

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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as in blazes

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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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 smolders The inside of the mound was tightly stacked with beech wood which smolders for weeks until it's been turned into charcoal — a craft that's been practiced in the Harz mountain region in eastern Germany for hundreds of years. — ABC News, 27 July 2026 Hamas’ October 2023 attack on Israel – the deadliest security failure in the country’s history – sparked the war in Gaza and a multifront conflagration that still smolders almost three years later. — Dina Kraft, Christian Science Monitor, 24 June 2026 Brûlée, a new brunch restaurant inspired by classic American Southern food, has already become a hotspot in Chicago, but smolders with culinary potential. — Louisa Kung Liu Chu, Chicago Tribune, 16 June 2026 Neighbors living near the Ontario warehouse say Abdulkarim should face more than arson charges, as equipment still smolders at the site and questionable air quality lingers after last week's massive blaze, covering an area the size of 21 football fields. — Austin Turner, CBS News, 13 Apr. 2026 Throughout the compilation of clips, Kristy smiles and smolders in the mirror while using a bottle of the luxury brand's Libre Berry Crush perfume. — Zoey Lyttle, PEOPLE, 27 Jan. 2026 Blood orange and saffron ignite the air, myrrh smolders beneath, and the woods hum with market heat. — Adam Hurly, Robb Report, 16 Oct. 2025

Recent Examples of Synonyms for smolders

Verb

Day to day, as the city grows, there’s also the question of traffic, which snarls the city as public transit initiatives have repeatedly struggled.

— Jacqui Palumbo, CNN Money, 21 July 2026
Security snarls The TSA PreCheck line at terminal B in LaGuardia Airport in East Elmhurst, Queens, New York City, on March 27, 2026.

— Leslie Josephs, CNBC, 28 Mar. 2026

Definition of snarls

Verb

Continue reading … JONATHAN TURLEY — Justice Alito blazes the ethical path the Supreme Court should take.

— , FOXNews.com, 2 Oct. 2026
As the flames approached the community in July, the majority of the village’s 3,500 residents were forced to flee their homes, as hundreds of firefighters were deployed to tackle blazes more violent and unpredictable than in previous years.

— Billy Stockwell, CNN Money, 4 Aug. 2026

Definition of blazes

Verb

Lai and his Democratic Progressive Party champion Taiwan’s separate identity from China, a position that frequently angers Beijing, which views the island as Chinese territory.

— Reuters, NBC news, 5 Oct. 2026
The receptionist angers Kripke and Bert so much that they are picked up by the police — along with Stuart, who had also been arrested.

— Michael Schneider, Variety, 31 July 2026

Definition of angers

Verb

Between the two telescopes, the blue and red Trifid Nebula glows to the left of the larger and redder Lagoon Nebula, all within the Sagittarius constellation.

— Chelsea Gohd, Space.com, 9 Oct. 2026
Show Caption 1 of 43 A Chicago Bears digital billboard glows at sunrise just off of Route 53 at the former Arlington International Racecourse on May 23, 2025, in Arlington Heights.

— Jeremy Gorner, Chicago Tribune, 1 Oct. 2026

Definition of glows

Verb

The frustration that seethes through the show is often born of the disappointment that a form as quicksilver and astounding as songwriting can be yoked to small-minded and propagandistic ends.

— Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 5 Oct. 2026
Tom Rhys Harries seethes as Matt Hagen, a pretty boy who loses his looks only to regain them from an experimental procedure that makes a jumble of his psyche.

— Randy Myers, Mercury News, 2 Sep. 2026

Definition of seethes

Verb

The red neon casting a Hopper-esque glow over the parking lot flickers as a train goes by.

— Amanda Lee Koe, Los Angeles Times, 14 Oct. 2026
Layered background sighs, a resonant lead vocal, autumnal acoustic guitar flickers, synths both eerie and trippy—James has all his tricks on tap.

— Ryan Leas, Pitchfork, 28 Aug. 2026

Definition of flickers

Browse Nearby Words

smoldering

smolders

smooch

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

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Synonyms of smolders

verb

Example Sentences

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