variants
or smoulder
1
as in to anger
to be excited or emotionally stirred up with anger
She smoldered when first learning of her son's misbehavior at school, but had calmed down by the time he arrived home.
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to blaze
to be on fire usually with smoke but few flames
They look forward to those long summer nights telling stories beside a smoldering campfire.
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of smolder
The smoldering chemistry between the two is palpable, and Blyth is especially good as a young man wrestling with his identity.
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Damon Wise, Deadline, 27 Jan. 2025
The smoldering burn scar of the Lachman Fire on the morning of Jan. 1, 2024, in Temescal Canyon Ridge.
—Erielle Delzer, CBS News, 14 Jan. 2025
On January 23, dozens of biologists laden with electrified backpacks, nets and buckets marched into the smoldering moonscape that the Palisades Fire had created in the Santa Monica Mountains.
—Anton Sorokin, Smithsonian Magazine, 5 Feb. 2025
But the myriad of causes that go into the still smoldering fires are complex, so the level of global warming’s fingerprints on weeks of burning appears relatively small compared to previous studies of killer heat waves, floods and droughts by the international team at World Weather Attribution.
—Seth Borenstein, Chicago Tribune, 29 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for smolder
Recent Examples of Synonyms for smolder
Verb
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The former Republican majority leader has angered some of Trump's supporters for votes and views that conflict with the president's.—
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Further confusing and angering fans has been the way the team has seemingly taken shots at Dončić's work ethic and conditioning.—
Verb
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Flood asks with blinking incredulity as Isidora blazes on to something else.—
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That era began in the late 1960s, blazed in the '70s, stayed on pace in the '80s, and survived in an unevenly declining way through Tucker, Mike Huckabee, Mike Beebe... Subscribe to continue reading, or log in.—
Verb
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The black bear slumped headfirst down and out of the tree and hit limply among the snarling dogs.—
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The raging wildfires have forced other event postponements, and snarled film and television productions.—
Verb
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The pair, who met as college undergrads, both burned with idealism and recognized their privilege could be leveraged for a game-changing idea.—
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The Ellen MacArthur Foundation promotes circular fashion and says that, in the United States, an amount of clothing equal to a garbage truck is ferried to landfills or burned every second.—
Verb
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For fans who can’t get enough of Reacher, Prime Video is also steaming Tom Cruise’s Jack Reacher movies.—
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Before leaving, the installation team steamed out every wrinkle in her new shades.—
Verb
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In a fire, a modern house is its own flaming toxic Superfund site.—
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His eyes wander the flaming mass of hair tumbling out from under my hat.—
Verb
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The video in question surfaced on Reddit, and shows the console being rotated 180-degrees, the Joy-Cons snapping into place, and a screen attachment connecting to the bottom USB-C port.—
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The victory snaps New Mexico’s eight-game win streak and marks the Broncos’ seventh-straight win over the Lobos on home court.—
Verb
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Their phrases, complex yet seemingly effortless, often direct our vision beyond their bodies to others or to the light glowing behind them, as if in reverence of the Amazonian waters and wonders, ever in need of preservation.—
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Look at it full and glowing through the window (on All Hallows’ Eve, no less!), and the night so beautifully full of screaming.—
Cite this Entry
“Smolder.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/smolder. Accessed 2 Mar. 2025.
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