inflammable
[ in-flam-uh-buhl ]
adjective
capable of being set on fire; combustible; flammable.
easily aroused or excited, as to passion or anger; irascible: an inflammable disposition.
noun
something inflammable.
Origin of inflammable
1confusables note For inflammable
Inflammable and flammable both mean “combustible.” Inflammable is the older by about 200 years. Flammable now has certain technical uses, particularly as a warning on vehicles carrying combustible materials, because of a belief that some might interpret the intensive prefix in- of inflammable as a negative prefix and thus think the word means “noncombustible.” Inflammable is the word more usually used in nontechnical and figurative contexts: The speaker ignited the inflammable emotions of the crowd.
Other words for inflammable
Other words from inflammable
- in·flam·ma·bil·i·ty, in·flam·ma·ble·ness, noun
- in·flam·ma·bly, adverb
- non·in·flam·ma·bil·i·ty, noun
- non·in·flam·ma·ble, adjective
- non·in·flam·ma·ble·ness, noun
- non·in·flam·ma·bly, adverb
- un·in·flam·ma·bil·i·ty, noun
- un·in·flam·ma·ble, adjective
Words that may be confused with inflammable
- inflammable , inflammatory
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
British Dictionary definitions for inflammable
inflammable
/ (ɪnˈflæməbəl) /
adjective
liable to catch fire; flammable
readily aroused to anger or passion
noun
something that is liable to catch fire
inflammable
See flammable
Derived forms of inflammable
- inflammability or inflammableness, noun
- inflammably, adverb
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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