ignite

verb

ig-ˈnīt How to pronounce ignite (audio)
Definition of ignitenext
as in to burn
to set (something) on fire tried using newspapers as kindling to ignite the logs in the fireplace

Synonyms & Similar Words

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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 ignite Lightning storms across Colorado, Utah, Nevada and California could also ignite new fires, according to AccuWeather meteorologists. — Karissa Waddick, USA Today, 10 Aug. 2026 Hot engine surfaces or residual gases can ignite hydrogen before the spark fires, producing knocking, power loss or potentially engine damage. — Christopher McFadden, Interesting Engineering, 9 Aug. 2026 Evacuation orders were lifted Saturday morning for the Ridge fire that jumped over the 5 Freeway on Friday afternoon after igniting in Gorman, prompting lane closures and heavy traffic delays through the Grapevine. — Clara Harter, Los Angeles Times, 8 Aug. 2026 Bearing the brunt of our new climate reality, of course, is the simmering countryside, desert dry and ready to ignite from the first mechanical spark, hot muffler, or flying ember. — John Vaillant, Time, 8 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for ignite
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ignite
  1. burn
  2. scorch
  3. light
  4. inflame
  5. fire
Verb
  • Washoe County Sheriff's Office Now combined, the Fred Mountain Fire and the Bug Fire have burned more than 57,000 acres with no containment as of Tuesday night, according to fire officials.
    — Richard Ramos, CBS News, 12 Aug. 2026
  • On the image-generation front, Google is burning tokens like never before.
    — ArsTechnica, ArsTechnica, 11 Aug. 2026
Definition of burn
Verb
  • Pyroclastic flows – fast-moving clouds of scorching gas, ash, and rock – could devastate territory near the caldera.
    — Atharva Gosavi, Interesting Engineering, 12 Aug. 2026
  • The fire began Sunday morning in the Los Padres National Forest southeast of the neighborhood of Loma Vista and quickly scorched 400 acres, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
    — Clara Harter, Los Angeles Times, 11 Aug. 2026
Definition of scorch
Verb
  • And the Diderot-Baudelaire-Fried tree abides even as the forest burns mutely round it, match lit by Elon Musk and company.
    — Carlos Valladares, ARTnews.com, 14 Aug. 2026
  • The large-scale equipment, boats, campsites were lit ablaze or rigged with dynamite and detonated by the officials.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 14 Aug. 2026
Definition of light
Verb
  • The list, which the city is legally required to publish, inflamed tensions between the mayor and the city’s wealthy, many of whom argued the roll amounted to doxing or public shaming.
    — Anthony Izaguirre, Fortune, 13 Aug. 2026
  • In the late 1980s, surging food prices inflamed the popular discontent behind the Tiananmen Square protests, which resulted in the massacre of protesters in 1989.
    — Caitlin Welsh, Foreign Affairs, 11 Aug. 2026
Definition of inflame
Verb
  • The team flew over around 1,700 square miles, firing rapid laser pulses at the ground.
    — Harriet Marsden, TheWeek, 10 Aug. 2026
  • Witnesses told police that guests at the wedding reception began fighting with one another and that at least two handguns were drawn before shots were fired.
    — Nicholas Lentz, CBS News, 10 Aug. 2026
Definition of fire

Browse Nearby Words

ignitable
ignite
ignited
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Ignite.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ignite. Accessed 16 Aug. 2026.

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Nglish: Translation of ignite for Spanish Speakers

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