smouldersmoul‧der British English, smolder American English /ˈsməʊldə $ ˈsmoʊldər/ verb [intransitive] 
Verb Table Examples
► see thesaurus at burn2 literary if someone smoulders, or if their feelings smoulder, they have strong feelings that they do not fully express:
He sensed a smouldering hostility towards him.smoulder with She had spent the evening smouldering with resentment.
Verb TableVERB TABLE
smoulder (BrE)
| Simple Form | ||
| Present | I, you, we, they | smoulder (BrE) |
| he, she, it | smoulders (BrE) | |
| Past | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | smouldered (BrE) |
| Present perfect | I, you, we, they | have smouldered (BrE) |
| he, she, it | has smouldered (BrE) | |
| Past perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | had smouldered (BrE) |
| Future | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will smoulder |
| Future perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will have smouldered (BrE) |
| Continuous Form | ||
| Present | I | am smouldering (BrE) |
| he, she, it | is smouldering (BrE) | |
| you, we, they | are smouldering (BrE) | |
| Past | I, he, she, it | was smouldering (BrE) |
| you, we, they | were smouldering (BrE) | |
| Present perfect | I, you, we, they | have been smouldering (BrE) |
| he, she, it | has been smouldering (BrE) | |
| Past perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | had been smouldering (BrE) |
| Future | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will be smouldering (BrE) |
| Future perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will have been smouldering (BrE) |
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
Thesaurus- The fire in the chemical factory was so intense that it was still smouldering a week later.
- In areas of shallow coal seams and dried out peat deposits, fires can smoulder below ground level for years.
- In plates around the room were fortune cookies, srnall Buddhas and smouldering joss sticks.
- My boots and feet were smouldering when they found me.
- Oh, two rugs on the stone floor were smouldering but the fire was contained.
- The slow burn of resentment smouldered inside her.
- Then he noticed the dark eyes, smouldering with hate at him from beneath tangled strands of black hair.
- They're less impressive as they smoulder, marmalade-like, over a pair of kohl-black eyebrows.
- Two-year-old Bethany Hudson's alarm started to smoulder and smoke as she lay in her cot.
THESAURUSto be burning► burn
Collocations to produce heat and flames: · The fire was still burning.· A pile of branches was burning in the yard.
► be on fire if a building, car, piece of clothing etc is on fire, it is burning and being damaged: · Before long, the neighbouring houses were on fire too.
► be alight especially written if something is alight, it is burning: · By the time the fire engines got there, the whole building was already alight.· The candle was still alight.
► be ablaze especially written if something is ablaze, it is burning with a lot of flames, so that it is seriously damaged: · Twelve hours after the bombing raid, many parts of the city were still ablaze.· The two hundred tonnes of straw were now ablaze and firefighters struggled to get the fire under control.
► blaze to burn very brightly with a lot of flames and heat: · A big log fire was blazing in the fireplace.
► smoulder British English, smolder American English to burn slowly and continuously, producing smoke but no flames: · A cigarette smouldered in the ashtray.· The fire in the chemical factory was so intense that it was still smouldering a week later.
► flicker if a fire or flame flickers, it burns with an unsteady light that appears and disappears quickly: · A welcoming fire flickered in the grate.· Inside the shrine candles flicker next to statues of saints.
Longman Language Activatorwhen something is burning► burn to produce flames and heat: · A pile of branches was burning in the yard.· At one end of the room a coal fire burned brightly.· The candle flickered briefly, then burned with a steady flame.
► be on fire if a building, vehicle, or piece of clothing is on fire , it is burning: · Large areas of the forest are reported to be on fire.· Before long the neighboring houses were on fire too.
► be in flames also be ablaze to be on fire with a lot of flames, causing serious damage: · When the fire department arrived the whole school was in flames.· Twelve hours after the bombing raid, many parts of the city were still ablaze.
► blazing burning very brightly with a lot of flames and heat: · They sat on the sofa in front of a blazing fire.· The heat from the blazing car could be felt several metres away.
► smoulder British /smolder American to burn slowly, producing smoke but no flames: · The fire in the chemical factory was so intense that it was still smouldering a week later.· A cigarette smoldered in the ashtray.· a pile of smoldering leaves
► flicker if a fire or flame flickers , it burns unsteadily: · A welcoming fire flickered in the grate.· Inside the shrine candles flicker next to statues of saints.
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES► a fire smoulders
1if something such as wood smoulders, it burns slowly without a flame (=a little smoke comes from a fire when it has almost gone out)· The fire was smouldering in the grate.
► somebody’s eyes are burning/smouldering/blazing with hate literary· Then he noticed the dark eyes, smouldering with hate.
► smouldering resentment (=resentment that is felt for a long time but not expressed)· The unrest highlighted the smouldering resentment in France's poor neighbourhoods.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSNOUN► fire· In areas of shallow coal seams and dried out peat deposits, fires can smoulder below ground level for years.· Somehow they had kept a fire smouldering here.· But as the fire began to smoulder, Gore's sister Catherine paid an unexpected visit to her parents cottage.· It took him a few moments to realize what it was, from the pinkish glow of the fire smouldering beneath it.
► see thesaurus at burn2 literary if someone smoulders, or if their feelings smoulder, they have strong feelings that they do not fully express:
He sensed a smouldering hostility towards him.smoulder with She had spent the evening smouldering with resentment.