inflammable
/ɪnˈflaməb(ə)l
/adjective
Easily set on fire: inflammable materials...
- Residents began clapping and chanting in support of the resistance and threw straw and other inflammable materials on the fire.
- If you are surrounded by easily available inflammable material, you don't have to worry about fuel economy.
- Bundles of goods containing inflammable materials and electricity wires dangerously hanging overhead cause recurrent fire.
Synonyms
flammable, combustible, incendiary, explosive;
unstable, volatile
rare burnable, ignitable
noun (usually inflammables)
A substance which is easily set on fire.‘As a garage, we have particular concerns such as vehicle collision, sparks igniting inflammables such as petrol or brake fluid and also manual lifting,’ he said....
- This important conclusive finding immediately sets at rest the allegation that a mob poured inflammables from outside into the compartment and set the rail compartment ablaze.
- The fire broke out when a passenger sprayed inflammables on the floor from two bottles and set fire to it.
Usage
The words inflammable and flammable both have the same meaning, ‘easily set on fire’. This might seem surprising, given that the prefix in- normally has a negative meaning (as in indirect and insufficient), and so it might be expected that inflammable would mean the opposite of flammable, i.e. ‘not easily set on fire’. In fact, inflammable is formed using a different Latin prefix in-, which has the meaning ‘into’ and here has the effect of intensifying the meaning of the word in English. Flammable is a far commoner word than inflammable and carries less risk of confusion.
Derivatives
inflammability
/ noun ...- Signs of this characteristic duality, the coexistence of civil atomisation and popular inflammability, can be found in the deep structures of much French thought.
- It's a jarring transition for a band originally known for its raw, youthful and raucous inflammability, but a nonetheless fitting and increasingly natural one.
- The results of this inquiry, coupled with his own belief as to the inflammability of furnace oil in the open, led him to think that the respondents could safely carry on their operations.
inflammableness
/ noun ...- On the other hand, hydrogen has the characteristics of colorlessness, odorlessness, inflammableness and the large flame propagation velocity.
- I went to go see a specialist about my catarrh. Is there anything that can sooth the inflammableness so it goes back to normal?
inflammably
Origin
Early 17th century: from French, or from Latin inflammare (see inflame).