to inflame tensions
1
7.4
- phrasal verb
- /ɪnˈfleɪm ˈtɛnʃənz/
- Literature
:
inflamar tensiones
- We're strongly urging both Israel and the Palestinian Authority to refrain from doing anything to inflame tensions at this time.
- want to inflame tensions
And of course, news of this reached home and only inflamed tensions.
- And of course, news of this reached home and only inflamed tensions.
Examples
-
Donald Henshaw also hit it on the money; these individuals want to "inflame tensions with the Muslim community":
Blog text (23) -
This ejection inflamed tensions between white and black Republicans and gave rise to Turner's last, blistering floor speech.
Academic text (2011) -
Police worry that publicity has inflamed tensions between police and Black youth.
-
The timing, less than two weeks after the trial of former officer Amber Guyger, served to further inflame tensions in the community.
Synonyms
144
3.6
Annoy someone again and again to make them react
103
3.2
To do things that make problems for other people
72
7.7
To push people to do violent or illegal acts
48
4.8
To make people feel strong emotions like anger or fear
36
6.9
To cause something bad to start
31
5.8
To make people's feelings stronger, especially anger or hate
21
8.4
To cause people to start trouble or violence
13
7.6
To cause people to argue or become divided on purpose
8
7.2
To make an argument or feeling worse by encouraging it
8
8.0
To cause trouble by saying things to make people argue
8
6.8
Make someone angry or annoyed on purpose by teasing them
7
5.9
To make a bad situation worse by saying or doing something that makes people angrier
5
5.3
To cause fights or problems between people on purpose
2
4.8
To put extra fuel on a fire or make a disagreement worse
1
9.9
To say or do things to make others angry and start fights
1
7.7
To make many people feel angry or shocked about something
1
7.3
Make a bad situation worse by what you say or do
To make feelings like anger or excitement stronger
To say or do things that cause arguments and make people angry
To cause trouble between people to get attention
To cause disagreement between people or groups
To make people argue or fight
To cause a lot of trouble and anger among people
To cause a strong public argument that divides people
Antonyms
How Tense
Surface Forms
Morphology
The verb 'inflame' (to stir up or intensify hostile emotions) combined with 'tensions' (hostility/strain) yields a directly compositional meaning: to intensify existing hostile feelings or conflict. This verb + noun collocation follows a common cross-linguistic pattern of intensifying emotions, so a learner who knows both words would readily infer the MWE's meaning.
Etymology
The phrase inflame tensions uses the image of fire: to inflame is to make a small flame grow, and tensions are the angry feelings between people. So, it means 'to make a situation more hostile or likely to result in conflict'.