as in burning
being on fire
combusting oxygen tanks turned the fire on the evacuees' bus into a raging inferno
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in glowing
to be on fire especially brightly
anthracite, which is naturally hard, combusts more cleanly than bituminous coal
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Recent Examples of combusting
Thao Nguyen, USA TODAY, 3 Oct. 2024
Verb
Crews detected no visible signs of the fire, such as flames, smoke or perceptibly combusting material.
—Thao Nguyen, USA TODAY, 3 Oct. 2024
Recent Examples of Synonyms for combusting
Adjective
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Ben Johnson has a ‘burning desire’ to be a head coach.—
Brad Biggs,
Chicago Tribune,
4 Feb. 2025
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For answers to more burning questions about Season 2, plus Season 3 clues (including which Season 1 character will be coming back), read Deadline’s interview with The Night Agent showrunner Shawn Ryan.—
Nellie Andreeva,
Deadline,
24 Jan. 2025
Verb
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The result is glowing, dancing auroras.—
Amanda Kooser,
Forbes,
7 Jan. 2025
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When a comet approaches the Sun, the heat causes the ice in the nucleus to sublimate (turn directly from solid to gas), creating a glowing halo of gas and dust around the nucleus called the coma.—
Jess Thomson,
Newsweek,
7 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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Earth upon Earth has opened and already come to the iced or flaming end of everything except sludge or scales or fur.—
Julie Swarstad Johnson,
Scientific American,
18 Mar. 2025
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Use fire itself, not as a flaming wood chipper, but as a transmuting presence to which much of the landscape may already be adapted, a process that can massage the biota, not just blast it away.—
Stephen A. Pyne,
The Hollywood Reporter,
18 Jan. 2025
Verb
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The clip, a 53-minute visualizer posted on YouTube, shows four red stockings hanging over a blazing fireplace alongside a Christmas tree.—
Latoya Gayle,
People.com,
20 Dec. 2024
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The clip, a 53-minute visualizer posted on YouTube, shows four red stockings hanging over a blazing fireplace alongside a Christmas tree.—
Latoya Gayle,
People.com,
20 Dec. 2024
Cite this Entry
“Combusting.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/combusting. Accessed 5 Apr. 2025.
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