conflagration

noun

con·​fla·​gra·​tion ˌkän-flə-ˈgrā-shən How to pronounce conflagration (audio)
1
: fire
especially : a large disastrous fire
The conflagration destroyed the warehouses.
2
: conflict, war
The conflagration between the two countries lasted for ten years.

Examples of conflagration in a Sentence

The treaty is the latest attempt to resolve the ten-year conflagration. the historic tavern burned to the ground in a horrible conflagration
Recent Examples on the Web See our picks for the best reads of the month Family secrets uncovered, a murderer awakened, and a conflagration in Greece — here are PEOPLE's picks for the best new books of January. People Staff, Peoplemag, 2 Jan. 2024 Today, two questions are vital: Have the conflagrations of recent years pushed the blocs off their old path? Philipp Carlsson-Szlezak, Fortune, 12 Feb. 2024 When Biden turned eighty-one, last November, a picture was posted to his Instagram account of the President happily seated before a birthday cake topped with a conflagration of candles. Clare Malone, The New Yorker, 25 Jan. 2024 Now in its seventh week, the war has leveled vast swaths of Gaza, fueled a surge of violence in the occupied West Bank, and stirred fears of a wider conflagration across the Middle East. Josef Federman, arkansasonline.com, 23 Nov. 2023 The recent skirmish has now heightened a fear that has preoccupied Middle Easterners since Hamas’s gruesome attacks on October 7 ushered in a new war with Israel: Could the war spread to an all-out conflagration involving Hamas’s main backer, Iran? Arash Azizi, The Atlantic, 12 Jan. 2024 The Arab Spring started after one vegetable vendor in central Tunisia set himself on fire, sparking a conflagration that toppled tyrants and set the region ablaze. Brian Klaas, The Atlantic, 16 Jan. 2024 The Houthis have targeted that crucial corridor linking Asian and Mideast energy and cargo shipments to the Suez Canal onward to Europe over the Israel-Hamas war, attacks that threaten to widen that conflict into a regional conflagration. TIME, 15 Jan. 2024 Hezbollah, also backed by Iran, has launched more than 1,000 rockets at northern Israeli communities since then, risking regional conflagration. Naftali Bennett, WSJ, 28 Dec. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'conflagration.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Latin conflagration-, conflagratio, from conflagrare — see conflagrant

First Known Use

1600, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of conflagration was in 1600

Dictionary Entries Near conflagration

Cite this Entry

“Conflagration.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/conflagration. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

conflagration

noun
con·​fla·​gra·​tion ˌkän-flə-ˈgrā-shən How to pronounce conflagration (audio)
: a large disastrous fire

More from Merriam-Webster on conflagration

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