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deflagrate

verb
def·​la·​grate | \ ˈde-flə-ˌgrāt How to pronounce deflagrate (audio) \
deflagrated; deflagrating

Definition of deflagrate

transitive verb

: to cause to deflagrate — compare detonate sense 1

intransitive verb

: to burn rapidly with intense heat and sparks being given off
Other Words from deflagrate Did You Know? Learn More about deflagrate

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Other Words from deflagrate

deflagration \ ˌde-​flə-​ˈgrā-​shən How to pronounce deflagration (audio) \ noun

Did You Know?

Deflagrate combines the Latin verb flagrare, meaning "to burn," with the Latin prefix de-, meaning "down" or "away." Flagrare is also an ancestor of such words as conflagration and flagrant and is distantly related to fulgent and flame. In the field of explosives, deflagrate is used to describe the burning of fuel accelerated by the expansion of gasses under the pressure of containment, which causes the containing vessel to break apart. In comparison, the term detonate (from the Latin tonare, meaning "to thunder") refers to an instant, violent explosion that results when shock waves pass through molecules and displace them at supersonic speed. Deflagrate has been making sparks in English since about 1727, and detonate burst onto the scene a couple of years later.

First Known Use of deflagrate

circa 1727, in the meaning defined at transitive sense

History and Etymology for deflagrate

Latin deflagratus, past participle of deflagrare to burn down, from de- + flagrare to burn — more at black

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