burning
adjective
burn·ing ˈbər-niŋ 
1
a
: being on fire
b
: ardent, intense
burning enthusiasm
2
a
: affecting with or as if with heat
a burning fever
b
: resembling that produced by a burn
a burning sensation on the tongue
3
: of fundamental importance : urgent
one of the burning issues of our time
burningly
ˈbər-niŋ-lē
adverb 
Synonyms
- ablaze
- afire
- aflame
- alight [chiefly British]
- blazing
- combusting
- conflagrant
- fiery
- flaming
- ignited
- inflamed
- enflamed
- kindled
- lit
- lighted
See all Synonyms & Antonyms 
Example Sentences
She stared at the burning embers for a long time. a burning hatred of corruption The medicine produced a burning sensation on my tongue. Symptoms include itchy, burning eyes.
Recent Examples on the Web Three firefighters were killed in January when a burning, vacant home collapsed. 
Giacomo Bologna, Baltimore Sun, 6 Sep. 2022 Selena Gomez made an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live this week to promote her Hulu hit Only Murders in the Building, but Jimmy Kimmel soon brought the conversation around to his own burning question: What was Britney Spears' wedding like? Aimée Lutkin, ELLE, 19 June 2022 This hand-poured, clean-burning soy candle will scent your apartment for up to 60 hours. Bon Appétit, 26 Apr. 2022 A few hundred yards away, the fire brigade was finishing hosing down the burning warehouse of a company that made thermal insulation materials. Yaroslav Trofimov, WSJ, 22 Apr. 2022 All 22 crew members were rescued, and the ship was left adrift and burning. Sebastian Blanco, Car and Driver, 18 Feb. 2022 And this clean-burning, non-pooling candle redolent of spicy peppercorn, earthy vetiver, and intoxicating gardenia, evokes Medina’s old-world charms: exploring spice markets, getting lost in the Medina, and strolling through the Casbah. Katie Chang, Forbes, 30 Jan. 2022 Even those of the opinion there wasn't a burning need for a redo -- reimagined or otherwise -- should conclude there's a place for this one too. Brian Lowry, CNN, 3 Dec. 2021 In a separate vein, Thomas has responded passionately to America's history of lynching and cross-burning. Joan Biskupic, CNN, 24 Oct. 2021 See More
Giacomo Bologna, Baltimore Sun, 6 Sep. 2022 Selena Gomez made an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live this week to promote her Hulu hit Only Murders in the Building, but Jimmy Kimmel soon brought the conversation around to his own burning question: What was Britney Spears' wedding like? Aimée Lutkin, ELLE, 19 June 2022 This hand-poured, clean-burning soy candle will scent your apartment for up to 60 hours. Bon Appétit, 26 Apr. 2022 A few hundred yards away, the fire brigade was finishing hosing down the burning warehouse of a company that made thermal insulation materials. Yaroslav Trofimov, WSJ, 22 Apr. 2022 All 22 crew members were rescued, and the ship was left adrift and burning. Sebastian Blanco, Car and Driver, 18 Feb. 2022 And this clean-burning, non-pooling candle redolent of spicy peppercorn, earthy vetiver, and intoxicating gardenia, evokes Medina’s old-world charms: exploring spice markets, getting lost in the Medina, and strolling through the Casbah. Katie Chang, Forbes, 30 Jan. 2022 Even those of the opinion there wasn't a burning need for a redo -- reimagined or otherwise -- should conclude there's a place for this one too. Brian Lowry, CNN, 3 Dec. 2021 In a separate vein, Thomas has responded passionately to America's history of lynching and cross-burning. Joan Biskupic, CNN, 24 Oct. 2021 See More Word History
First Known Use
before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a
Phrases Containing burning
Medical Definition
burning 1 of 2
adjective
burn·ing ˈbər-niŋ
1
: affecting with or as if with heat
a burning fever
2
: resembling that produced by a burn
a burning sensation on the tongue
burning
2 of 2noun
: a sensation of being on fire or excessively heated
gastric burning
burning 1 of 2
adjective
1
as in flaming
being on fire a firefighter must be that rare soul who rushes into a burning house, not away from it Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
- flaming
- blazing
- smoldering
- burned
- flickering
- lit
- ignited
- burnt
- aflame
- afire
- combusting
- ablaze
- charred
- glowing
- inflamed
- kindled
- fiery
- alight
- enflamed
- lighted
- scorching
- flaring
- searing
- conflagrant
- live
- scorched
- roasting
- hot
- smouldering
- aglow
- scalding
- broiling
- seared
- sizzling
- singed
- incinerated
- piping hot
- red-hot
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- extinguished
- dead
- smothered
- choked
- stamped (out)
- quenched
- suffocated
- doused
- damped
- snuffed (out)
- dowsed
2
as in boiling
having a notably high temperature a burning sauna seems like a welcome retreat after a day of shoveling snow Synonyms & Similar Words
- boiling
- searing
- scorching
- hot
- molten
- red
- roasting
- blazing
- scalding
- broiling
- warmed
- sweltering
- fiery
- heated
- warm
- superheated
- fervent
- white-hot
- glowing
- fervid
- torrid
- ardent
- sultry
- piping hot
- ultrahot
- red-hot
- seething
- sizzling
- overheated
- flushed
- inflamed
- igneous
- toasty
- enflamed
- feverish
- tropical
- reheated
- steamy
- snug
- warmish
- muggy
- canicular
- summery
- summerlike
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- freezing
- cold
- frozen
- icy
- arctic
- iced
- bitter
- glacial
- frigid
- cool
- chilly
- chill
- snowy
- frosty
- cooled
- snappy
- nippy
- shivering
- ice-cold
- wintry
- bone-chilling
- subzero
- coldish
- algid
- unheated
- chilled
- wintery
- coolish
- refrigerated
- subfreezing
- numb
- benumbed
- blizzardly
3
as in warm
having or expressing great depth of feeling the burning enthusiasm of that candidate's campaign workers Synonyms & Similar Words
- warm
- passionate
- charged
- blazing
- passional
- glowing
- fervent
- flaming
- intense
- emotional
- fiery
- religious
- ardent
- incandescent
- impassioned
- superheated
- enthusiastic
- demonstrative
- feverish
- on fire
- perfervid
- fervid
- torrid
- vehement
- red-hot
- hot-blooded
- gushing
- warm-blooded
- sentimental
- sugary
- sloppy
- obsessed
- zealous
- maudlin
- mushy
- mawkish
- saccharine
- gushy
- overheated
- schmaltzy
- melodramatic
- histrionic
- sappy
- gung ho
- infatuated
- uninhibited
- enamored
- keen
- orgiastic
- unrestrained
- frenzied
- overexcited
- unreserved
- overemotional
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- cold
- dry
- cool
- dispassionate
- impassive
- objective
- detached
- impersonal
- unemotional
- emotionless
- reserved
- undemonstrative
4
as in pressing
needing immediate attention once again the media ignored the burning issues and focused on fluff Synonyms & Similar Words
- pressing
- urgent
- acute
- crying
- intense
- critical
- emergent
- compelling
- instant
- desperate
- dire
- immediate
- serious
- imperative
- exigent
- overriding
- importunate
- demanding
- clamant
- extreme
- insistent
- dangerous
- explosive
- imperious
- hazardous
- severe
- crucial
- grave
- necessitous
- unstable
- vital
- perilous
- life-or-death
- precarious
- life-and-death
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- minor
- incidental
- negligible
- trivial
- safe
- stable
- noncritical
- unimportant
- nonurgent
- low-pressure
- nonthreatening
burning
2 of 2verb
1
as in glowing
to be on fire especially brightly all evening long we just sat there, contentedly watching the Yule log burn Synonyms & Similar Words
- glowing
- flaming
- blazing
- flickering
- combusting
- smoldering
- firing
- shining
- igniting
- gleaming
- melting
- kindling
- scorching
- charring
- cooking
- roasting
- baking
- broiling
- going up in flames
- enkindling
- sweltering
- deflagrating
- sputtering
- wavering
- flashing
- smouldering
- sparking
- glinting
- catching
- guttering
- radiating
- glistening
- shimmering
- glittering
- brightening
- glimmering
- sparkling
- glaring
- beaming
- twinkling
- flaring (up)
- scintillating
- lighting (up)
- beating (down)
2
as in scorching
to set (something) on fire it is not a good idea to try to burn old papers in the sink Synonyms & Similar Words
- scorching
- torching
- igniting
- kindling
- lighting
- firing
- inflaming
- enkindling
- enflaming
- immolating
- baking
- illumining
- incinerating
- charring
- cooking
- illuminating
- broiling
- deflagrating
- searing
- stoking
- lightening
- cremating
- rekindling
- ashing
- scalding
- relighting
- frizzling
- kilning
- brightening
- reigniting
- radiating
- irradiating
- setting off
- scathing
- banking
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- extinguishing
- quenching
- choking
- suffocating
- smothering
- dousing
- darkening
- blackening
- stamping (out)
- obscuring
- dowsing
- snuffing (out)
- putting out
- dimming
- dulling
3
as in steaming
to be excited or emotionally stirred up with anger he came home burning with anger because of a reprimand at work Synonyms & Similar Words
- steaming
- raging
- boiling
- storming
- shaking
- seething
- foaming
- sizzling
- fuming
- smoldering
- rankling
- seeing red
- smouldering
- fulminating
- agitating
- enflaming
- inflaming
- ranting
- raving
- convulsing
- bristling
- chafing
- stewing
- roiling
- fretting
- flaring (up)
4
as in blazing
to shine with a bright harsh light the bright streetlight outside our motel room burned all night long Synonyms & Similar Words
- blazing
- glowing
- flaring
- flaming
- flashing
- glaring
- gleaming
- beating
- radiating
- glancing
- sparkling
- glistening
- glinting
- shimmering
- glittering
- blinding
- beaming
- twinkling
- glimmering
- dazzling
- glistering
- scintillating
- bedazzling
- dazing
5
as in tricking
to cause to believe what is untrue he's been burned before, so he's careful to double-check such claims now Synonyms & Similar Words
- tricking
- fooling
- deceiving
- stinging
- catching
- teasing
- kidding
- juggling
- gaffing
- having
- gammoning
- misleading
- suckering
- misguiding
- duping
- humbugging
- deluding
- cheating
- sucking in
- stringing along
- gulling
- hoaxing
- taking in
- misinforming
- cozening
- conning
- snookering
- snowing
- sticking
- beguiling
- bluffing
- bamboozling
- buffaloing
- hornswoggling
- bleeding
- spoofing
- having on
- hoodwinking
- faking out
- pulling one's leg
- pulling the wool over one's eyes
- doing a number on
- leading one up the garden path
- defrauding
- swindling
- leading one down the garden path
- fleecing
- hustling
- putting on
- squeezing
- mulcting
- chiseling
- shortchanging
- diddling
- rooking
- skinning
- euchring
- flimflamming
- chiselling
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- exposing
- uncovering
- revealing
- debunking
- disclosing
- undeceiving
- telling
- unmasking
- divulging
- unveiling
- showing up
- disabusing
- uncloaking
- disillusioning
- disenchanting
6
as in consuming
to make complete use of heedlessly burning the country's resources without any concern for future generations Synonyms & Similar Words
- consuming
- spending
- draining
- exhausting
- reducing
- absorbing
- eating
- depleting
- devouring
- using
- emptying
- expending
- decreasing
- wasting
- playing out
- drawing down
- diminishing
- lowering
- using up
- weakening
- running out of
- dwindling
- downsizing
- undermining
- blowing
- lessening
- crippling
- bankrupting
- sapping
- impoverishing
- debilitating
- disabling
- dissipating
- abating
- guzzling
- squandering
- enfeebling
- drying up
- throwing away
- de-escalating
- running through
- misspending
- cleaning (out)
- lavishing
- frittering (away)
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- increasing
- replacing
- renewing
- enlarging
- augmenting
- enforcing
- reinforcing
- repairing
- strengthening
- rebuilding
- saving
- restoring
- preserving
- reviving
- conserving
- bolstering
- reenforcing
- fortifying
- thumbhole
- thumbholer
- thumbholes
- thumbier
- thumbiest
- thumbing
- thumbing (through)
- thumbing one's nose
- thumbing one's nose (at)
- thumbing one's nose at
- thumbing through
- thumbkins
- thumbless
- thumbling
- thumbmark
- thumbnail
- thumbnail sketch
- thumbnailer
- thumbnailest
- thumbnailler
- thumbnaillest
- thumbnails
- thumbnuts
- thumbpiece
- thumbpieces