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burning

burning

4.1
Very important and needing action now
  • adjective
  • /ˈbɜrnɪŋ/
translation icon : urgente
  • These two men addressed themselves to the burning issues of our times.

These two men addressed themselves to the burning issues of our times.

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Examples

  • Her speech addressed several burning questions about climate change and its consequences.

  • She talked very eloquently about fighting burning injustice.

  • We just have to have the burning desire to learn.

  • And you have the this overwhelming, burning need to do this thing.

  • I had a a burning desire to achieve greatness.

  • It has to come from a burning desire and unflinching demand.

  • The committee is currently discussing the burning issues that affect our society.

  • We need to prioritize the burning challenges in education reform to create lasting change.

Synonyms

on the front burner
vsburning
  • US
5 4.4

A matter that needs immediate attention and is very important

is a short adjective form rather than a multiword idiom

Antonyms

121 3.9

Not important or serious

104 4.1

Not important or too small to matter

Idioms

1 9.5

Asking someone if people have just been talking about them

Make the home warm and caring while someone is away

1 8.8

A sudden sense that people are talking about you, often when your name is said

1 9.0

You feel that people are talking about you when you are not there

9.9

To have a wild, loud party with dancing and music

Compounds

burning question
  • Informal
11 3.5

An urgent question that needs a quick answer

8 3.5

Using wood to make heat for a room or for cooking

A way of killing someone by tying them to a post and setting them on fire as punishment

burning bush
  • Literature
5 8.0

A bush on fire that God used to speak to Moses in the Bible

book burning
  • Offensive
2 7.2

Destroying books on purpose to stop political or religious ideas

clean-burning
  • Specialized
1 5.3

Produces little smoke or ash when burned

1 3.9

Using coal for heat or electricity

1 3.2

Making electricity or heat by using coal as fuel

A shrub with bright red or purple leaves used for decoration

burning bush
  • Specialized
9.1

A plant with white flowers that gives off a gas that can burn in hot weather

9.9

A period in Europe when many people accused of being witches are killed, often by burning at the stake

free burning
  • Specialized
8.3

A fire that keeps going in open air, often like an electric arc

A stick or cone that burns slowly and makes a pleasant smell

A log that gives steady heat for hours in a fire

A strong feeling of love or interest that grows slowly

A stove that controls the air so the fuel gives heat for many hours

How Urgent

vital
403 3.5
critical
917 4.0
burning
4.1
urgent
337 2.9
pressing
4.1
important
1.0

Surface Forms

burning positive

Morphology

burning = burn (semi-transparent) = burn + ing

Formed by the regular '-ing' suffix from 'burn', but the adjectival sense 'urgent' is metaphorical rather than strictly literal.

Etymology

The adjective burning comes from the verb burn, meaning 'to set on fire', and we call a question or problem 'burning' because it is like a fire that needs quick attention.