View synonyms for

incendiary

[ in-sen-dee-er-ee ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

adjective

used or adapted for setting property on fire:
incendiary bombs.
of or relating to the criminal setting on fire of property.
tending to arouse strife, sedition, etc.; inflammatory:
incendiary speeches.
tending to inflame the senses:
an incendiary extravaganza of music and dance.

noun

plural incendiaries.

a person who deliberately sets fire to buildings or other property, as an arsonist.
Military. a shell, bomb, or grenade containing napalm, thermite, or some other substance that burns with an intense heat.
a person who stirs up strife, sedition, etc.; an agitator.

incendiary

/ ɪ��ˈ��ɛ�Ի�ɪə��ɪ /

adjective

of or relating to the illegal burning of property, goods, etc
tending to create strife, violence, etc; inflammatory
(of a substance) capable of catching fire, causing fires, or burning readily

noun

a person who illegally sets fire to property, goods, etc; arsonist
(esp formerly) a person who stirs up civil strife, violence, etc, for political reasons; agitator
Also calledincendiary bomb a bomb that is designed to start fires
an incendiary substance, such as phosphorus

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Word History and Origins

Origin of incendiary¹

1600–10; < Latin ��Գ��Ի徱��ܲ�, equivalent to incendi ( um ) a fire ( incend ( ere ) to kindle ( in- in- ² + -cendere, transitive v. from base of ��Ի�ŧ�� to shine, be hot; candent, candid, candor ) + -ium -ium ) + -��ܲ� -ary

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Word History and Origins

Origin of incendiary¹

C17: from Latin ��Գ��Ի徱��ܲ� setting alight, from incendium fire, from incendere to kindle

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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

Elsewhere, Black Panther star Letitia Wright will appear in The Story, a new play by US writer Tracey Scott Wilson about an ambitious black journalist who defies her editor to pursue an incendiary lead.

From

Addressing the committee ahead of the vote, she described the Green member's remarks as "dangerous and incendiary".

From

My unfortunate niche is innocent Americans who were mistreated, maimed, or killed in the name of elastic, expansive, nebulous, and incendiary words like “terrorists,” “insider threats,” “enemies within,” “illegals,” and “traitors.”

From

Police Deputy Commissioner George Bivens said the suspect had a homemade incendiary device in his possession and was arrested in the Harrisburg area.

From

He warned against the "incendiary rhetoric and tactics we are seeing in the United States", where Elon Musk has pledged to take a "chainsaw" to the federal government and drastically cut the workforce.

From

��ˈ��Ի徱��ˌ��incense

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