incendiary Hear it!

incendiary Definition

in·cen·di·ary (in sendē er′ē; also, -dē ər ē)

adjective

  1. having to do with the willful destruction of property by fire
  2. causing or designed to cause fires, as certain substances, bombs, etc.
  3. willfully stirring up strife, riot, rebellion, etc.

Etymology: L incendiarius, setting on fire, an incendiary < incendium, a fire < incendere: see incense

noun pl. -·ar′·ies

  1. a person who willfully destroys property by fire
  2. a person who willfully stirs up strife, riot, rebellion, etc.
  3. an incendiary bomb, substance, etc.

incendiary Related Forms
in·cen·dia·rism′ (-dē ə riz′əm) noun
incendiary Synonyms

incendiary

modif.

  1. Combustible

    ignitable, burnable, flammable; see burning 1, inflammable.

  2. Stirring up strife or rebellion

    inflammatory, provocative, subversive; see dangerous 1, inflammatory, rebellious 2, treacherous 2.

incendiary Synonyms

incendiary

n.

  1. Arsonist

    pyromaniac, firebug*, petroleur (French); see arsonist, criminal.

  2. An agitator

    insurgent, instigator, provocateur (French); see agitator, rebel 1.

incendiary Law Definition

n

  1. An arsonist.
  2. A bomb or combination of chemicals used to start a fire.
incendiary Usage Examples

Converse of object

  • drop: After another daylight raid the attacks switched to the night time with over half the bombs dropped being incendiaries.
  • extinguish: Sgt Neville Richard Lucey Killed when off duty but attempting to extinguish incendiaries during an air raid at Willesden.
  • burn: At Lockhaugh near to Rowlands Gill incendiaries still burned on the fields and roads.

Converse of subject

  • hit: He also saw melted chocolate run down the street gutters after a warehouse was hit by incendiaries.

Adjective modifier

  • few: Most of the bombs ( mainly shrapnel with a few incendiaries ) were dropped in the East End.
  • other: When he made his report, Dad learned that there had been other incendiaries but all were dealt with.
  • explosive: Around the same period explosive incendiaries destroyed my school.

Modifies a noun

  • bomb: An incendiary bomb through the roof into the kitchen.
  • device: There are no incendiary devices used in the play, the nearest source of heat would be the rig on the ceiling.
  • bullet: Worst of all was the knowledge that, using incendiary bullets, British aircraft had succeeded in shooting down airships.
  • raid: Nearly 2.5 square miles of Kobe was also destroyed by incendiary raids.
  • shell: A tracer or incendiary shell caused the fire in the airship.
  • weapon: The use of such incendiary weapons against civilian targets is banned by international treaty.

Modifying Another Word

  • particularly: Tonight's show â incidentally their biggest UK headline gig to date â is a particularly incendiary affair.

Used with adjective complement

  • become: As the first note was struck the audience erupted into a sea of flying bodies and the already hot atmosphere became incendiary.