Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
🔥 To set fire 🔥 To catch fire
to conflagrate

to conflagrate

9.9
To set fire to something
  • verb
  • /kənˈflæɡəˌreɪt/
translation icon : incendiar
  • The careless camper's match threatened to conflagrate the entire forest.

Examples

  • If not properly monitored, faulty wiring could easily conflagrate the building.

  • Don't conflagrate the trash without supervision!

  • A single spark was enough to conflagrate the old, dry barn.

  • The arsonist conflagrated the abandoned building.

  • The careless camper accidentally conflagrated the dry brush while attempting to start a fire.

  • A spark from the faulty electrical wiring conflagrated the wooden shed in seconds.

  • The wildfire quickly conflagrated the entire forest, leaving nothing but ashes behind.

Synonyms

to burn
vsto conflagrate
∞ 1.0

To be on fire or damage something with heat

causes the start of flames rather than existing in them
to burn down
vsto conflagrate
121 3.0

To destroy a building or object completely by fire

focuses on starting the burning rather than the complete destruction
to set on fire
vsto conflagrate
110 3.0

Make something start burning

focuses on causing ignition without mentioning intent or accident
to torch
vsto conflagrate
76 6.5

To set fire to something on purpose

covers causing ignition without implying deliberate criminal intent
to ignite
vsto conflagrate
66 4.0

To make something start burning

uses general language to indicate causing something to burn
to scorch
vsto conflagrate
31 4.8

To burn something completely so it is destroyed

is the act of initiating burning rather than stressing total destruction
to fire
vsto conflagrate
17 1.0

To burn something to destroy it

is about causing the start of burning rather than the damage outcome
to combust
vsto conflagrate
8 7.4

To catch fire or make something burn

is specifically about actively causing the start of burning
to set ablaze
vsto conflagrate
5 4.8

To make something start burning

is a more formal or dramatic way to say causing ignition
to kindle
vsto conflagrate
4 3.7

To make wood, paper, or other material start to burn

describes causing ignition generally, not the gentle start process
to burn up
vsto conflagrate
3 4.6

To light up suddenly with a strong flame or bright light

means causing ignition but not necessarily with sudden intensity
to set afire
vsto conflagrate
2 4.1

Make something start to burn

is a more formal way to describe making something burn
to set aflame
vsto conflagrate
1 5.1

To make something start burning

is the broader act of causing ignition without focusing on flame appearance
to set alight
vsto conflagrate
  • UK
1 4.2

To make something start burning

is a more formal term for causing something to catch fire
to inflame
vsto conflagrate
1 5.7

To make something start burning, for example paper or dry grass

is the simple act of causing ignition without extra intensity
ignited
vsto conflagrate
3.5

Set on fire so it is burning

describes the act of causing ignition without marking it complete
to enkindle
vsto conflagrate
  • Archaic
9.1

To make something start to burn, like a fire or a strong feeling

is the straightforward action of making something catch fire
enkindled
vsto conflagrate
  • Archaic
9.4

Causing something to burn or someone to feel a strong emotion

names the act of causing ignition in neutral present terms

Antonyms

to extinguish
23 4.4

Stop a fire, candle, or other light from burning

to quench
16 4.2

To stop thirst by drinking or to put out a fire by cooling it

How Intense

to incinerate
33 7.1
to conflagrate
9.9
to burn
∞ 1.0
to set on fire
110 3.0
to ignite
66 4.0
to light
905 1.0

Surface Forms

conflagrate infinitive
conflagrated past
conflagrated past participle
conflagrating present participle
conflagrates third person singular

Morphology

conflagrate = conflagration (semi-transparent) = con + flagr + ate

The verb is a back-formation from the noun 'conflagration' (a large destructive fire), so its meaning is broadly predictable from that noun but the verb is rare and formed by non-productive Latinate morphology.

Etymology

Conflagrate comes from Latin parts con- 'together' and flagrare 'to burn', and it is from the same root as flame. Think of many things burning together — that's why conflagrate means to set something on fire or make it burn.