flammable
adjective
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Why Inflammable Is Not the Opposite of Flammable
Combustible and incombustible are opposites but flammable and inflammable are synonyms. Why? The in- of incombustible is a common prefix meaning "not," but the in- of inflammable is a different prefix. Inflammable comes from Latin inflammare ("to inflame"), itself from in- (here meaning "in" or "into") plus flammare ("to flame"). Flammable also comes from flammare. In the early 20th century, firefighters worried that people might think inflammable meant "not able to catch fire," so they adopted flammable and nonflammable as official safety labels and encouraged their use to prevent confusion. In general use, flammable is now the preferred term for describing things that can catch fire, but inflammable is still occasionally used with that meaning as well.
Synonyms
Examples of flammable in a Sentence
Mary Whitfill Roeloffs, Forbes, 19 Dec. 2024
Without suppression in the wildlands, residents’ last line of defense is to harden against wildfires by ensuring that flammable materials don’t collect on their houses and that there are no holes where embers can enter the home.
—Noah Haggerty, Los Angeles Times, 14 Dec. 2024
Residents with eucalyptus trees in or near their yard should also be on alert, since the trees are highly flammable and have shallow root structures.
—Maura Fox, The Mercury News, 10 Dec. 2024
Partly in response to federal memos asking states to address the storage of flammable materials under bridges, officials have been working for the past several years to do just that, Bruning said.
—Quinlan Bentley, The Enquirer, 28 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for flammable 
Dictionary Entries Near flammable
Cite this Entry
“Flammable.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/flammable. Accessed 30 Dec. 2024.
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flammable
adjective
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