highly combustible
3
4.3
- adjective
- /ˈhaɪli kəmˈbʌstəbl/
:
altamente combustible
- The factory stores several materials that are highly combustible, posing a fire hazard.
- a highly combustible mixture
Examples
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It works as well as any material, but it is highly combustible, and great care has to be taken not to get it too close to the lights.
Academic text (1999) -
These furnaces accept highly combustible household waste such as plastic.
Academic text (2000) -
This is a highly combustible synthesis.
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They are, they are extremely toxic and of course highly combustible and they're very corrosive.
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Polyvinyl chloride tracheal tubes are highly combustible when used in an oxidizing atmosphere.
Academic text (2007) -
HONG KONG -- The United States still has tens of thousands of troops based in Europe, a full withdrawal from Afghanistan is two years away, Iran's nuclear program appears to be a crisis-in-waiting, and the Middle East remains highly combustible.
Blog text (6) -
When exposed to flames, paper is highly combustible and can ignite within seconds.
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It is important to keep highly combustible liquids away from heat sources to prevent accidents.
Synonyms
41
2.8
Able to catch fire and burn quickly
18
5.1
Easily catches fire and burns
2
5.2
Easily set on fire and burns quickly
Easily catches fire and burns very quickly
Able to catch fire and burn easily
Able to catch fire and burn
Can burn easily
Antonyms
How Flammable
Surface Forms
Morphology
The adjective phrase is fully compositional: 'highly' is an intensifier ('extremely') and 'combustible' means 'easily set on fire', so a learner who knows both words can directly infer 'very easily ignited'. This follows a standard adverb+adjective pattern common across languages, making the meaning immediately predictable to B1 learners.
Etymology
Highly combustible comes from the idea of things that catch fire very easily. Combustible means able to 'catch fire', so something highly combustible is like dry paper or gasoline that will burn from a small spark, and the phrase is used to warn that a material can 'catch fire' very quickly.