flame
Pronunciation Noun

flame

  1. The visible part of fire; a stream of burning vapour or gas, emitting light and heat.
    • 1907, Robert William Chambers, chapter III, in The Younger Set, New York, N.Y.: D. Appleton & Company, OCLC 24962326 ↗:
      Long after his cigar burnt bitter, he sat with eyes fixed on the blaze. When the flames at last began to flicker and subside, his lids fluttered, then drooped; but he had lost all reckoning of time when he opened them again to find Miss Erroll in furs and ball-gown kneeling on the hearth […].
  2. A romantic partner or lover in a usually short-lived but passionate affair.
  3. (Internet) Intentionally insulting criticism or remark meant to incite anger.
  4. A brilliant reddish orange-gold fiery colour.
     
  5. (music, chiefly, lutherie) The contrasting light and dark figure seen in wood used for stringed instrument making; the curl.
    The cello has a two-piece back with a beautiful narrow flame.
  6. Burning zeal, passion, imagination, excitement, or anger.
    • 1667, John Milton, “Book 5”, in Paradise Lost. A Poem Written in Ten Books, London: Printed [by Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […] [a]nd by Robert Boulter […] [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], OCLC 228722708 ↗; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: The Text Exactly Reproduced from the First Edition of 1667: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, OCLC 230729554 ↗:
      in a flame of zeal severe
    • 1717, Alexander Pope, Eloisa to Abelard:
      where flames refin'd in breasts seraphic glow
Related terms Translations Translations Translations Verb

flame (flames, present participle flaming; past and past participle flamed)

  1. To produce flames; to burn with a flame or blaze.
    • c. 1608–1609, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedy of Coriolanus”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies: Published According to the True Originall Copies (First Folio), London: Printed by Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358 ↗, [Act IV, scene iii]:
      The main blaze of it is past, but a small thing would make it flame again.
  2. To burst forth like flame; to break out in violence of passion; to be kindled with zeal or ardour.
    • 18, Thomas Babington Macaulay, chapter 2, in The History of England from the Accession of James the Second, volume (please specify ), London: Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, OCLC 1069526323 ↗:
  3. (Internet, ambitransitive) To post a destructively critical or abusive message (to somebody).
    I flamed him for spamming in my favourite newsgroup.
    • 2019, Steven McCornack & Kelly Morrison, Reflect & Relate, 5th edition
      Because online communication makes it easy to flame, many of us impetuously fire off messages that we later regret.
Related terms Translations Translations
  • German: anmachen
  • Russian: фле́ймить
Adjective

flame (not comparable)

  1. Of a brilliant reddish orange-gold colour, like that of a flame.



This text is extracted from the Wiktionary and it is available under the CC BY-SA 3.0 license | Terms and conditions | Privacy policy 0.003
Offline English dictionary