incendiary
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Contents
English[edit]
Etymology[edit]
Borrowed from Old French incendiaire, from Latin incendiārius (“setting alight”), from incendium (“destructive fire”), from incendō (“I set on fire, kindle”), from in- (“into, in, on, upon”) + candeō (“I am hot”).
Pronunciation[edit]
- (UK) enPR: ĭnsĕn'dĭərē, IPA(key): /ɪnˈsɛn.dɪ.əɹ.i/, /ɪnˈsɛn.djəɹ.i/
- (US) enPR: ĭnsĕn´dĭĕ'rē, IPA(key): /ɪnˈsɛn.di.ɛɹ.i/, /ɪnˈsɛn.di.əɹ.i/
,Audio (US) (file) Audio (US) (file)
Adjective[edit]
incendiary (comparative more incendiary, superlative most incendiary)
- Capable of, or used for, or actually causing fire.
- 2006, Edwin Black, chapter 1, in Internal Combustion[1]:
- Blast after blast, fiery outbreak after fiery outbreak, like a flaming barrage from within, […] most of Edison's grounds soon became an inferno. As though on an incendiary rampage, the fires systematically devoured the contents of Edison's headquarters and facilities.
- Intentionally stirring up strife, riot, rebellion.
- Inflammatory, emotionally charged.
- Politics is an incendiary topic; it tends to cause fights to break out.
Translations[edit]
capable of causing fire
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intentionally stirring up strife, riot, rebellion
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inflammatory, emotionally charged
Noun[edit]
incendiary (plural incendiaries)
- Something capable of causing fire, particularly a weapon.
- The military used incendiaries to destroy the building. Fortunately, the fire didn't spread.
- One who maliciously sets fires; an arsonist.
- (figuratively) One who excites or inflames factions into quarrels; an agitator.
- Bentley
- Several cities […] drove them out as incendiaries.
- Bentley
Translations[edit]
something capable of causing fire
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