incendiary
noun
in·cen·di·ary
| \ in-ˈsen-dē-ˌer-ē
; -ˈsen-də-rē, -dyə-
\
; -ˈsen-də-rē, -dyə-
\
plural incendiaries
Definition of incendiary
(Entry 1 of 2)
incendiary
adjective
in·cen·di·ary
| \ in-ˈsen-dē-ˌer-ē
; -ˈsen-də-rē, -dyə-\
; -ˈsen-də-rē, -dyə-\
Definition of incendiary (Entry 2 of 2)
2
: tending to excite or inflame : inflammatory
incendiary speeches
3a
: igniting combustible materials spontaneously
b
: of, relating to, or being a weapon (such as a bomb) designed to start fires
4
: extremely hot
incendiary chili peppers
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Examples of incendiary in a Sentence
Noun
He was convinced that the arsonist was not at all what the town imagined: not brazen, but callow; not an expert incendiary noiselessly plying deer paths, but someone who was driving right up to his targets and fumbling with matches … — Barry Werth, New England Monthly, February 1989 White phosphorus, an incendiary, is normally packed in thin-walled casings; the casing is effective for dispersing chemical agents as well. — Stephen Budiansky, Nature, 5–11 Apr. 1984 The British had also made jellied gasoline with rubber, and it was generally recognized to be an excellent incendiary because of its easy ignition, high heat of combustion, and controlled burning rate. — B. & F. M. Brodie, From Crossbow to H-Bomb, 1973 firefighters caught the incendiary, who was watching the effects of his handiwork blamed the protests on outside incendiaries who were intent on overthrowing the governmentAdjective
While visual effects experts work with images, mechanical effects experts work with machinery, tools, incendiary devices, and other equipment to manipulate physical events during live-action filming. — Patricia D. Netzley, Encyclopedia of Movie Special Effects, 2000 In the mid-Eighties, heavy-metal music was the incendiary genre being demonized … — Alan Light, Rolling Stone, 18 Feb. 1993 The only caveat … is to know one's own sensitivity to chili pepper heat. If a small or moderate dose of capsicum (the incendiary chemical component in chilies) makes you dash for a glass of ice water, this menu is not going to be fun for you. — Harvey Steiman, Wine Spectator, 15 Mar. 1991 The fire was started by an incendiary bomb. recklessly made incendiary remarks during a period of heightened racial tensions
Recent Examples on the Web: Noun
After two nights of intensive bombing with high explosives and incendiaries, several square miles burn for hours at hundreds of degrees Centigrade, an inferno consuming every living creature. — Matthew Sturgis, The New York Review of Books, "Geoffrey Wheatcroft," 21 Mar. 2019 Hamas, in turn, has staged weekly riots at the Gaza barrier and unleashed flying incendiaries that have wreaked massive ecological damage. — WSJ, "Try Something New After 70 Years of Failure," 6 Nov. 2018 Among the authors were right-wing incendiaries like Michael Savage, Mark Levin and Ann Coulter. — John Sharp, AL.com, "How an Alabama classroom and a right-wing reading list put a fresh rip in America's partisan divide," 4 Feb. 2018 White phosphorus, along with other incendiaries, has been used by Syrian government forces battling insurgents in Aleppo and elsewhere. — Anne Barnard, New York Times, "U.S.-Led Forces Said to Have Used White Phosphorus in Syria," 10 June 2017 The bombardier dropped four incendiaries, setting the factory ablaze. — National Geographic, "Trained in Secret, These Fearless Pilots Retaliated for Pearl Harbor," 15 Apr. 2017 But incendiaries, barrel bombs and missiles can do just as much damage to civilians as gas — which Assad didn’t necessarily use or intend to use in the future, anyway. — Leonid Bershidsky, The Denver Post, "Trump’s missiles hit U.S. critics, not Assad," 22 Apr. 2017Recent Examples on the Web: Adjective
Police believe Chan's assailant left a backpack holding an incendiary device and items that could be used for an abduction beneath the car, authorities said. — Darran Simon And Cheri Mossburg, CNN, "Police will give an update on the fatal stabbing of a retired Cal State Fullerton administrator," 22 Aug. 2019 At one immigration detention center in Washington state, a man armed with a rifle and throwing incendiary devices died Saturday after four police officers arrived and opened fire. — latimes.com, "Threatened ICE raids create more political noise than police action," 15 July 2019 Omar has been accused of anti-Semitism for previous remarks about Israel, but has apologized for her incendiary comments. — CBS News, "Israel denies entry to outspoken Reps. Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib," 15 Aug. 2019 For his part, Bevin restrained from making incendiary comments against teachers. — Mandy Mclaren, The Courier-Journal, "'We're not backing down': Teachers a screaming force at Fancy Farm, aim ire at Bevin," 3 Aug. 2019 This is far more incendiary than the usual, and that’s saying something. — Bill Goodykoontz, azcentral, "Media can’t be afraid to call Trump out on his erroneous, racist tweets," 14 July 2019 Leaders in politically unstable countries have used the service to make incendiary comments that critics said have helped to legitimize violent acts among followers. — Anchorage Daily News, "Twitter adds labels for tweets that break its rules - a move with potential implications for Trump’s account," 27 June 2019 The portrayals of Ailes’s harassment and abuse also strain to be more incendiary than dramatic. — Matthew Gilbert, BostonGlobe.com, "Russell Crowe a force as Roger Ailes in ‘The Loudest Voice’," 26 June 2019 Both Colbert and Noah were astounded that Trump made incendiary comments about Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex, and London Mayor Sadiq Khan before his U.K. visit. — Nick Romano, EW.com, "Stephen Colbert on Trump's U.K. visit: 'The Crown has really jumped the shark'," 4 June 2019These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'incendiary.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for incendiary
incendiary
adjective
English Language Learners Definition of incendiary
: containing chemicals that explode into flame : producing a fire
: causing anger
See the full definition for incendiary in the English Language Learners Dictionary
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