to inflame public opinion
1
7.7
- phrasal verb
- /ɪnˈfleɪm ˈpʌblɪk əˈpɪnjən/
- Literature
:
inflamar la opinión pública
Examples
-
A well-organized media campaign painted the workers as "enemies of the people, especially the lower classes" and inflamed public opinion in favor of the reforms, while the government orchestrated emergency oil imports from Argentina and the army occupied the refineries to secure them from "destruction."
Academic text (1998) -
Authoritative accounts of cannibalism would have inflamed public opinion; suppressing this information appears to have been part of a strategy to buy time to pursue peaceful contacts in the Rio Negro-Ocaia and Rio Lage/Ribeirao regions.
Academic text (1997) -
The controversial decision by the government could inflame public opinion and lead to widespread protests.
-
Many believe that the media's coverage of the event will inflame public opinion and increase tensions in the community.
-
His fiery speech was designed to inflame public opinion against the proposed policy changes.
Synonyms
143
3.9
Make people feel very angry and shocked
131
3.7
To make someone feel a strong emotion
115
3.7
Cause a reaction or feeling
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
42
4.8
To make people feel strongly excited or upset
39
6.7
To make people feel shocked and excited so they act
36
6.9
To cause something bad to start
31
5.8
To make people's feelings stronger, especially anger or hate
12
4.9
To get attention or cause trouble by changing the usual way things are done
12
7.0
To shock or offend people by behaving in a way many think is wrong
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
6
4.0
Make people feel excited or upset and attract attention
4
5.8
Make many people very angry
1
7.0
To cause many people to show strong public anger or criticism
1
9.9
To say or do things to make others angry and start fights
1
5.4
Cause strong arguments about a topic, often on public issues
To cause a strong public argument that divides people
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
How Intense
4
5.8
- Literature
1
7.7
133
1.9
218
2.7
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly and compositionally derived from the parts: 'inflame' (to stir up or intensify emotions) applied to 'public opinion' (the collective views of people) yields 'to provoke strong reactions among the public.' This construction follows ordinary English semantics and has clear parallels in many languages, so a B1 learner who knows the constituent words will readily understand it.
Etymology
Inflame public opinion uses the image of a fire starting among people: to inflame is to set feelings burning, and public opinion means the feelings of many people. So, it now means 'to make many people very angry or excited'.