incendiary
/ɪnˈsɛn.dɪ.əɹ.i/
incendiary · adj — capable of, or used for, or actually causing fire. It carries an Arena rating of 1818, earned across 37 head-to-head judged battles.
Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, incendiary ranks #483 of 17,187 for Most Malleable Words, #1,263 of 17,188 for Words That Escaped Their Books, #1,290 of 17,166 for Most Vivid Words, #1,313 of 17,171 for Scariest Words.
incendiary is pronounced /ɪnˈsɛn.dɪ.əɹ.i/.
Why “incendiary” is a great word
Capable of causing fires or provoking violent upheaval, whether as a substance, device, person, or speech. From Middle English incendiarie, from Old French incendiaire, from Latin incendiārius ("setting alight"), from incendium ("destructive fire"), from incendere ("to set on fire, kindle"), from in- ("in, on") + candere ("to be hot, glow"), first attested c. 1400. Unlike "inflammatory," which merely sparks anger through rhetoric, or "arsonist," a specific criminal agent, "incendiary" holds both the physical and the symbolic conflagration. It is the glass bottle filled with gasoline, the whispered rumor that empties a square, and the perfect, treasonous phrase that finds its one dry patch of tinder in the soul—the ancient recognition that to burn something is to change it utterly, and that some agents exist only to make such change begin.
❧ Essay by Lexicurio’s AI · definition, etymology & citations from published sources
Etymology
From Middle English incendiarie, from Old French incendiaire, from Latin incendiārius (“setting alight”), from incendium (“destructive fire”), from incendō (“to set on fire, kindle”), from in- (“into, in, on, upon”) + candeō (“to be hot”).
adj
- Capable of, or used for, or actually causing fire.
- Of a damaging fire, intentionally caused rather than accidental.e.g.“The Crown must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the fire was incendiary in origin; that is, it was not accidental and that it was either intentionally or recklessly set by the accused.” — 2003 December 18, Adams, j., Newfoundland and Labrador Supreme Court, Trial Division, “R. v. Leite (F.), 2003 NLSCTD 181”, in CanLII, retrieved 03 Oct 2021:
- Intentionally stirring up strife, riot, rebellion.
- Inflammatory, emotionally charged.e.g.“Politics is an incendiary topic; it tends to cause fights to break out.”
noun
- Something capable of causing fire, particularly a weapon.e.g.“The military used incendiaries to destroy the building. Fortunately, the fire didn't spread.”
- One who maliciously sets fires.
- One who excites or inflames factions into quarrels.e.g.“March 7, 1692, Richard Bentley, The Folly of Atheism
Several cities […] drove them out as incendiaries.”
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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