FIRES Synonyms: 296 Similar and Opposite Words

fires 1 of 2

noun

plural of fire

as in infernos

a destructive burning a number of suspicious fires in the neighborhood recently

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Relevance

as in ordeals

a test of faith, patience, or strength asked to be sent to the front lines, as he was eager to prove himself in the fire of battle

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fires

2 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of fire

as in shoots

to cause (a projectile) to be driven forward with force police officers firing rubber bullets

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as in blasts

to cause a weapon to release a missile with great force soldiers fired at the enemy in panic-stricken disorder

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as in stimulates

to give life, vigor, or spirit to a school outing to the natural history museum fired his imagination, and he grew up to become an eminent paleontologist

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in sacks

to let go from office, service, or employment fired the secretary for incompetence

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in throws

to send through the air especially with a quick forward motion of the arm fired a pass to the running back

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as in burns

to set (something) on fire lit some kindling before attempting to fire the logs

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of fires

Noun

Investigators said cellular data showed that one of Brady's devices was either at the scene of the fires or in the area. — Madeline Bartos, CBS News, 12 Aug. 2026 Forest and peat fires are an annual problem in Indonesia, which strains relations with neighboring countries. — ABC News, 11 Aug. 2026 Since erupting Saturday, three fires in Spokane County have destroyed more than 700 structures, displaced tens of thousands of residents and threatened communities. — Karina Tsui, CNN Money, 4 Aug. 2026 Taiwan’s Hsinchu County is implementing the Smart Eye Guardian system to automate the monitoring of public-safety events, including hazards, fires, violent activity, traffic incidents and suspicious behavior. — Lee-Lean Shu, Forbes.com, 4 Aug. 2026 Investigators have not connected Farinacci to the two other major blazes burning in the area, the Autumn Lane and Fairview fires, officials said. — Landon Mion, FOXNews.com, 4 Aug. 2026 The woman lived a block away, in an apartment that had escaped the fires in the war. — Cynthia Zarin, Harpers Magazine, 4 Aug. 2026 Authorities said the cause of the fires is still under investigation. — Kirk Siegler, NPR, 4 Aug. 2026 Living in Alpine, Anderson has had to evacuate his home because of wildfire threats, and noted that CalFire, the county and the community learned from the fires and are much better prepared now than in the past. — Regina Elling, San Diego Union-Tribune, 21 July 2026

Verb

The bureau conducts its own investigation each time an agent fires a weapon. — Isabelle Chapman, CNN Money, 10 Aug. 2026 And 10 years later, DOGE actually fires hundreds of thousands of federal workers. — Tonya Mosley, NPR, 10 Aug. 2026 Reach out to a teammate about travel plans or a community event, because purpose fires your optimism and keeps everyone moving together. — Tarot.com, Chicago Tribune, 7 Aug. 2026 Kyiv often fires hundreds of drones into Russia in retaliation for Russia launching hundreds of its own drones and dozens of missiles at Ukrainian towns and cities. — CBS News, 4 Aug. 2026 Zelenskyy is keen to move quickly on a coproduction agreement as Russia relentlessly fires ballistic missiles that are hard to stop and cause civilian casualties as well as inflicting huge damage on civilian areas. — ABC News, 24 July 2026 The machine fires X-ray beams at a subject, then uses a specialized camera to record how a bone absorbs the beams based on density. — Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 23 July 2026 Ukrainian President Zelenskyy fires his commander in chief after major protests. — Daniela Suarez, NBC news, 22 July 2026 Sky Rocket fires riders from 0 to 50 mph in under three seconds into a vertical top‑hat and three inversions, while Exterminator hides indoors as a spinning wild mouse in the dark. — Gabby Sartori, USA Today, 22 July 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for fires

Noun

The soaring temperatures have caused raging infernos across southern France and Spain, with European wildfires burning through 56% more land than in prior years.

— Oliver Balch, Fortune, 27 July 2026
From a military perspective though, this strike, and the infernos which have engulfed other Wildberries facilities, have some important lessons for the rest of the world.

— David Hambling, Forbes.com, 23 July 2026

Definition of infernos

Verb

These events occur when extremely hot underground water suddenly turns into steam, expands, and blasts apart the surrounding rock.

— Atharva Gosavi, Interesting Engineering, 12 Aug. 2026
No stomping rhythms here, no shrill blasts in unison, no sweaty masculinity souring the air, no red faces.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 11 Aug. 2026

Definition of blasts

Verb

Deadheading daisies helps maintain a tidy appearance, stimulates new growth, and encourages prolific blooms.

— The Spruce, The Spruce, 11 Aug. 2026
Microneedling stimulates your own collagen with minimal downtime, while a series of light to medium chemical peels can brighten the complexion, improve texture and help fade residual summer discoloration.

— Carlos Wolf, Miami Herald, 6 Aug. 2026

Definition of stimulates

Verb

Manning, back for what is probably his final season, is on the short list of best returning quarterbacks in the country and edge rusher Colin Simmons won the SEC sacks title with 12.

— Cedric Golden, Austin American Statesman, 3 Jan. 2026
Riley Moss sacks a scrambling Trevor Lawrence on third-and-4 for a 1-yard loss.

— Joe Nguyen, Denver Post, 21 Dec. 2025

Definition of sacks

Verb

In the end, Helaena throws herself from her window and to her death.

— Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 10 Aug. 2026
The movie stars Stewart and Alia Shawkat as codependent, marijuana-loving best friends who get caught in a case of mistaken identity that throws their lives into chaos.

— Kirsten Chuba, HollywoodReporter, 6 Aug. 2026

Definition of throws

Verb

Part of the process included increasing the duration of the satellite’s thruster burns to get ready for the multi-hour firings needed while grappling the observatory.

— Ashley Strickland, CNN Money, 7 Aug. 2026
Around one in 7,000 people carries a broken copy of this gene that almost acts like a GLP-1 drug—the body burns fuel more efficiently, and the risk of disease lowers.

— Jacek Krywko, Scientific American, 5 Aug. 2026

Definition of burns

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fireproof

fires

fire sale

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Style

“Fires.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fires. Accessed 13 Aug. 2026.

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Synonyms of fires

noun

verb

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