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incendiary

 - 3 dictionary results

in⋅cen⋅di⋅ar⋅y

  [in-sen-dee-er-ee] adjective, noun, plural -ar⋅ies.
Use incendiary in a Sentence
–adjective
1. used or adapted for setting property on fire: incendiary bombs.
2. of or pertaining to the criminal setting on fire of property.
3. tending to arouse strife, sedition, etc.; inflammatory: incendiary speeches.
4. tending to inflame the senses: an incendiary extravaganza of music and dance.
–noun
5. a person who deliberately sets fire to buildings or other property, as an arsonist.
6. Military. a shell, bomb, or grenade containing napalm, thermite, or some other substance that burns with an intense heat.
7. a person who stirs up strife, sedition, etc.; an agitator.
Origin:
1600–10; < L incendiārius, equiv. to incendi(um) a fire (incend(ere) to kindle (in- in- 2 + -cendere, transit. v. from base of candēre to shine, be hot; see candent, candid, candor ) + -ium -ium ) + -ārius -ary
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To incendiary
in·cen·di·ar·y   (ĭn-sěn'dē-ěr'ē)   
adj.  

    1. Causing or capable of causing fire.

    2. Of or containing chemicals that produce intensely hot fire when exploded: an incendiary bomb.

    3. Of or involving arson.

  2. Tending to inflame; inflammatory: an incendiary speech.

n.   pl. in·cen·di·ar·ies

  1. An arsonist.

  2. An incendiary device.

  3. One who creates or stirs up factionalism or sedition; an agitator.


[Middle English, from Latin incendiārius, from incendium, fire, from incendere, to set on fire; see incense1.]
in·cen'di·a·rism (-ə-rĭz'əm) n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

incendiary 
"person who sets malicious fires" (n.), 1606; "concerning malicious fires" (adj.), 1611, from L. incendiarius (n.), from incendium "conflagration," from incendere "set on fire," from in- "in" + *candere "to set alight, cause to glow," related to candere "to shine" (see candle). Fig. sense of "enflaming passions" (adj.) is from 1614. Military use, of bombs, shells, etc., attested from 1871. The obsolete verb incend is attested from 1502.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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