incendiary
pronunciation
How to pronounce incendiary in British English:
UK [ɪnˈsendiəri]
How to pronounce incendiary in American English:
US [ɪnˈsendieri]
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- Noun:
- a criminal who illegally sets fire to property
- a bomb that is designed to start fires; are most effective against flammable targets (such as fuel)
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- Adjective:
- involving deliberate burning of property
- arousing to action or rebellion
- capable of catching fire spontaneously or causing fires or burning readily
Word Origin
- incendiary
- c. 1400 as a noun, "person who sets malicious fires;" mid-15c. as an adjective, "capable of being used to set fires," from Latin incendiarius "causing a fire," from incendium "conflagration," from incendere "set on fire," figuratively, "incite, rouse, enrage," from in- "into, in, on, upon" (see in- (2)) + *candere "to set alight, cause to glow," related to candere "to shine" (see candle). Figurative sense of "enflaming passions" (adj.) is from 1610s. Military use, of bombs, shells, etc., attested from 1871. The obsolete verb incend is attested from c. 1500.
Example
- 1. A successful incendiary raid required ideal weather that included dry air and significant wind .
- 2. There are other dubious , if less incendiary , members of the new group too .
- 3. The bomber runs would be made at night , at low altitude and deliver a mixture of high explosive and incendiary bombs .
- 4. Nor are such gibes unusually incendiary for an american presidential campaign .
- 5. One must learn to weed out incendiary polemics and agitprop from the whirling online maelstrom to become an informed and thoughtful citizen .