flames 1 of 2

noun

plural of flame
as in darlings
a person with whom one is in love decided to look up an old flame while she was in town

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

flames

2 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of flame
1
as in burns
to be on fire especially brightly guests gathered around as the Yule log flamed brightly in the inn's great stone fireplace

Synonyms & Similar Words
2
as in erupts
to develop suddenly and violently my anger flamed when the usher told my friend to shut up

Synonyms & Similar Words
3
as in glows
to shine with a bright harsh light the noonday sun flamed down on the desert travelers

Synonyms & Similar Words
4
as in gleams
to shoot forth bursts of light the actress's ruby necklace flamed dazzlingly under the bright lights

Synonyms & Similar Words

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 flames
Noun
The flames started in the basement, according to fire officials. — Christina Fan, CBS News, 12 Aug. 2026 Footage shared by the company showed massive flames and fireballs erupting from the facility. — ABC News, 12 Aug. 2026 Patrick Gotwalt was a passenger on the flight and recorded a video showing flames coming from the engine as the flight appears to be flying over water. — Amanda Jackson, CNN Money, 11 Aug. 2026 Several speakers also alleged Lineage Logistics has not been forthcoming about what exactly burned in the warehouse with residents fearing that chemicals were among materials that fueled the flames and spread through the air. — City News Service, Daily News, 6 Aug. 2026 Videos from the fire zone showed towering smoke plumes rising above trees and neighborhoods as airplane tankers dropped fire retardant on the fast-moving flames. — Jeanine Santucci, USA Today, 4 Aug. 2026 Authorities say that, in the June 8 incident, Flores poured two bottles of lighter fluid onto a burning California Highway Patrol vehicle to intensify the flames. — Seamus Bozeman, Los Angeles Times, 4 Aug. 2026 Fire department deputy spokesman Yiannis Artopios told the outlet that conditions were constantly changing, making the flames difficult to tackle. — Robbie Griffiths, NPR, 4 Aug. 2026 Senate Republicans have yet to find solutions to overcome hurdles on key policy proposals, putting their annual August recess travel plans at risk of going up in flames. — Ramsey Touchberry, The Washington Examiner, 4 Aug. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for flames
  1. darlings
  2. burns
  3. erupts
  4. glows
  5. gleams
  6. sweethearts
  7. blazes
  8. explodes
Noun
  • But after a disappointing 2025 season in which the Tigers went from top-five preseason Playoff darlings to Pinstripe Bowl losers, is the clock ticking for the winningest coach in ACC football history?
    — Austin Perry OutKick, FOXNews.com, 31 July 2026
  • Directed by their longtime collaborator Garth Jennings, the feature combines footage from their arena tour behind last year’s reunion album, More, with archival film tracing the band’s rise from tenacious Sheffield also-rans to Britpop darlings.
    — Jazz Monroe, Pitchfork, 23 July 2026
Definition of darlings
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
Verb
  • When Tae-ha starts a fire that erupts into an explosion, a horrified Eun-sae begins to remember her life before amnesia.
    — Kayti Burt, Time, 7 Aug. 2026
  • Later, the Astro Toilets, a more powerful force, descend from space and a civil war erupts.
    — Kyle MacNeill, Rolling Stone, 6 Aug. 2026
Definition of erupts
Verb
  • Another light show game is the Black Light Tumble Tower that glows in the dark.
    — BestReviews, Mercury News, 12 Aug. 2026
  • In a laboratory 2 kilometers underground, a crane lowers Matt Depatie, a detector technologist, through a hatch into a white-walled cavern filled with about 7,000 tons of ultrapure water that glows as blue as wiper fluid in the light.
    — James Dinneen, Quanta Magazine, 7 Aug. 2026
Definition of glows
Verb
  • Like Beckham’s dress, the 100-percent silk dress softly gleams in the light.
    — Izzy Baskette, PEOPLE, 12 Dec. 2025
  • Despite a couple of funky skips, the album is fueled by the hunger of an artist who really wants the pop life again, perking up electro-scuzz and arena rock with new wave that gleams like glitter.
    — Pitchfork, Pitchfork, 4 Dec. 2025
Definition of gleams
Noun
  • Dream To You — Viki/Viu Hyeri and Hwang In-yeop star in this ongoing rom-com where high school sweethearts reunite as a struggling journalist and accomplished film director in their thirties.
    — Hannah Abraham, Forbes.com, 1 Aug. 2026
  • The high school sweethearts split after nearly a decade together.
    — Yamillah Hurtado, PEOPLE, 23 July 2026
Definition of sweethearts
Verb
  • As the flames approached the community in July, the majority of the village’s 3,500 residents were forced to flee their homes, as hundreds of firefighters were deployed to tackle blazes more violent and unpredictable than in previous years.
    — Billy Stockwell, CNN Money, 4 Aug. 2026
  • Calmer winds and cooler temperatures assisted fire crews in their battle against the Spokane blazes Monday, but temperature are anticipated to climb back into the 90s by Wednesday and continue to push firefighters to their limits.
    — Clara Harter, Los Angeles Times, 4 Aug. 2026
Definition of blazes
Verb
  • Reacher explodes into action, kicking over a table, executing a backward roll into the guy behind him while handcuffed, then redirecting that guy’s tranq gun against the other Men in Black.
    — Chris Klimek, Vulture, 12 Aug. 2026
  • That first bump hits Tony with such a rush that the soundtrack explodes with boogielicious disco.
    — Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 6 Aug. 2026
Definition of explodes

Phrases Containing flames

Browse Nearby Words

flamers
flames
flames out
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Flames.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/flames. Accessed 14 Aug. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on flames

Nglish: Translation of flames for Spanish Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of vacuous

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

The Words of the Week - Aug. 14

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
image of a green cube out of place in a lineup of red spheres
Odd Word Out: Synonyms Vol. 2 Quiz Figure out which word isn't like the others.
See All