Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

inflame

/ɪnˈfleɪm/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: 2.58 in modern English

Syllables
in-flame
IPA
/ɪnˈfleɪm/
12
Scrabble Score
7
Letters
2
Syllables
7
Unique Chars

Meaning

verb

To set (someone or something) on fire; to cause (someone or something) to burn, flame, or glow; to kindle.

Transitive verb

verb

To cause (something) to appear bright or red, as if on fire; to brighten, to redden.

Transitive verb

verb

To cause (the body or a body part) to feel abnormally or unusually hot; specifically (medicine), to cause inflammation, including abnormal heat, pain, redness, swelling, etc., in (the body or a body part).

Transitive verb

verb

To cause (someone, or their heart, mind, etc.) to feel strong desire or other feelings; to excite (someone) to great passion; specifically, to cause (someone) to feel anger or rage; to anger, to enrage, to incense.

Transitive verb

verb

To excite or intensify (a feeling, such as an appetite or passion), especially to an excessive or unnatural level.

Transitive verb

verb

To cause (something intangible, such as a dispute or violence, or hunger or thirst) to become more serious or worse; to aggravate, to exacerbate.

Transitive verb

verb

To increase (the price or quantity of something).

Obsolete; Transitive verb

verb

To burst into flames, to catch fire.

Intransitive verb

Example Sentences

Etymology

From Middle English inflammen, enflamen, enflaumen (“to set (something) on fire; to be on fire; (figurative) to enrage (someone); to become enraged; to incite (someone) to do evil; to inspire (someone); (medicine) to cause inflammation of (a body part)”), from Old French enflamer, enflammer (“to set (something) on fire, inflame; to be on fire; (figurative) to fuel (a debate, hatred, etc.)”) (modern French enflammer), from Latin inflammāre, the present active infinitive of inflammō (“to set (something) on fire, inflame; (figurative) to excite (someone)”), from in- (prefix meaning ‘into; to, towards’) + flammō (“to set (something) on fire; to be on fire; (figurative) to incite (someone)”) (from flamma (“flame, fire; (figurative) passion”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰel-, *bʰl̥g- (“to blaze, burn; to glow, shine; bright flame, fire”)) + -ō (suffix forming regular first-conjugation verbs)). By surface analysis, in- (prefix meaning ‘into; to, towards’) + flame.

Origin

Word Breakdown

  • Root: *bʰel-, inflammen, enflamer, inflammāre

Regional Pronunciation

  • American English: /ɪnˈfleɪm/
  • British English: /ɪnˈfleɪm/

Usage

Inflected Forms

inflames (present, singular) inflaming (participle, present) inflamed (participle, past) inflamed (past) no-table-tags (table tags) glossary (inflection template) inflamed (first person, past) inflamest (archaic, present) inflamed (past, second person) inflamedst (archaic, past) inflameth (archaic, present) inflamed (past, singular)

Derived Forms

disinflame inflamed inflamer inflaming misinflame reinflame uninflamed

Frequently Paired Words

flammable inflammable inflammation inflammatory

Synonyms

aflame ignite alight conflagrate fire fire up inflame enkindle light light up set ablaze set afire

Antonyms

disinflame

Rhymes With

same game name came became claim blame frame shame aim fame flame

Questions

How do you pronounce inflame?
The recorded pronunciation is /ɪnˈfleɪm/.
What does inflame mean?
To set (someone or something) on fire; to cause (someone or something) to burn, flame, or glow; to kindle.
Where does inflame come from?
It is traced to Middle English.

How to pronounce inflame

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “inflame”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ɪnˈfleɪm/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “inflame”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “inflame” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.