(flămˈə-bəl)
adjective Easily ignited and capable of burning rapidly; inflammable.
Related Forms:
Usage Note: Historically,
flammable and
inflammable mean the same thing. However, the presence of the prefix
in- has misled many people into assuming that
inflammable means “not flammable” or “noncombustible.” The prefix
-in in
inflammable is not, however, the Latin negative prefix
-in, which is related to the English
-un and appears in such words as
indecent and
inglorious. Rather, this
-in is an intensive prefix derived from the Latin preposition
in. This prefix also appears in the word
enflame. But many people are not aware of this derivation, and for clarity's sake it is advisable to use only
flammable to give warnings.
