Skip to main content
firebombing

firebombing

5 7.8
An attack using bombs that cause fires to destroy buildings or cities
  • noun
  • /ˈfaɪərˌbɑːmɪŋ/
  • Offensive
translation icon : bombardeo incendiario
  • The German people also saw their history destroyed in the firebombings of Dresden and every other major and minor city.
  • the firebombing of Dresden
  • the firebombing of Germany

Examples

  • Wilcox pointed out that the firebombings of over sixty Japanese cities, along with the 54,000,000 people who were killed by other humans during the war, led to a determination to do whatever was necessary to bring an end to the killings.

    Academic text (2007)
  • Millions of books disappeared in the Allied firebombing of Dresden and other German cities at the end of World War II, while in the east, the Soviet army's "Trophy Squads" sacked libraries in search of rare books.

    Academic text (2003)
  • A firebombing in a fire station has touched off a small race war...

  • Fewer people were killed by those two bombs than were being killed by the firebombing that was happening prior.

    Blog text (18)
  • Church buildings smoldering after a midnight firebombing.

    Academic text (1994)
  • After the American firebombing raids in 1945, however, Szilard became disillusioned.

    Academic text (2005)
  • Americans and Britons who would have been appalled at the firebombing of cities in 1938 barely blinked at the idea in 1943.

    Academic text (2008)
  • Also, the book takes place shortly after World War II, where Richard's guilt over his participation in the Dresden firebombing unwittingly leads police to suspect him.

    Blog text (18)
  • However extensive the collateral damage in Afghanistan, for example, there is a world of difference between accidentally hitting civilians in Kandahar with not-so-smart bombs and firebombing Dresden to break the population's morale.

    Academic text (2011)
  • The firebombing of the city left many buildings in ruins and caused widespread panic.

Synonyms

bombing
vsfirebombing
942 3.4

An attack using bombs to damage or scare people

specifies incendiary methods that aim to set buildings and cities on fire
airstrike
vsfirebombing
  • Specialized
173 4.5

A military attack by planes that drop bombs or fire missiles at targets on the ground

uses weapons specifically designed to start fires and burn city buildings
shelling
vsfirebombing
51 8.3

Firing large guns at an area, often not aimed at a specific target

focuses on causing fires with incendiary devices to destroy buildings and cities
bombardment
vsfirebombing
47 7.0

A long, heavy attack with bombs or large guns on a place

involves incendiary weapons that burn structures rather than only heavy attack
air raid
vsfirebombing
32 4.2

A sudden attack by military planes that drop bombs and shoot at the ground

involves using burning ordnance delivered from above to destroy urban areas
carpet bombing
vsfirebombing
  • NSFW
2 8.0

A military attack that drops many bombs over a wide area without aiming at specific targets

uses incendiary devices to start fires that destroy buildings and cities
saturation bombing
vsfirebombing
  • NSFW
1 8.2

To drop many bombs over a large area to destroy it

relies on incendiary attack to burn buildings and spread destruction across cities
area bombing
vsfirebombing
  • NSFW
7.5

Attacking a large area from the air to destroy many buildings rather than specific targets

focuses on starting fires in built-up areas to cause wide destruction

How Intentional

firebombing
  • Offensive
5 7.8
incendiarism
  • NSFW
9.9
carelessness
16 2.8

Surface Forms

firebombing singular
firebombings plural

Morphology

firebombing = firebomb (transparent) = fire + bomb + ing

The noun is formed regularly from the verb firebomb by adding -ing, and the meaning follows directly from the base verb.

Etymology

Firebombing comes from the two words fire and bomb, where fire means 'burning' and bomb means 'a thing that explodes'. So, firebombing is an attack that uses bombs to start fires and destroy buildings or whole parts of a city.