as in fire
the illegal burning of a building or other property; the crime of setting fire to something
The cause of the fire has not yet been determined, but investigators suspect arson. The town has suffered a rash of arson attacks.
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Recent Examples of arson
From at least 1985 to 2005, the Latin Kings terrorized Milwaukee's south side through shootings, beatings, kidnappings, arson, drug dealing and other crimes, according to court documents.
—
Drake Bentley, jsonline.com, 24 Oct. 2025
Keon King, a 21-year-old man whom police allege was the last person in contact with Scott, has since been arrested and charged with murder, arson and tampering with evidence in connection with the case.
—Samira Asma-Sadeque, PEOPLE, 23 Oct. 2025
Officers later executed a search warrant at the teen’s home finding what police said was evidence connecting him to the earlier car arsons.
—Darrell Smith, Sacbee.com, 23 Oct. 2025
Rodriguez was arrested and taken to the Johnson County Jail, according to the post, and faces charges of arson of a place of worship, burglary of a building, theft of property and collision involving damage.
—Lillie Davidson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 22 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for arson
Drake Bentley, jsonline.com, 24 Oct. 2025
Keon King, a 21-year-old man whom police allege was the last person in contact with Scott, has since been arrested and charged with murder, arson and tampering with evidence in connection with the case.
—Samira Asma-Sadeque, PEOPLE, 23 Oct. 2025
Officers later executed a search warrant at the teen’s home finding what police said was evidence connecting him to the earlier car arsons.
—Darrell Smith, Sacbee.com, 23 Oct. 2025
Rodriguez was arrested and taken to the Johnson County Jail, according to the post, and faces charges of arson of a place of worship, burglary of a building, theft of property and collision involving damage.
—Lillie Davidson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 22 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for arson
Recent Examples of Synonyms for arson
Noun
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Then the 23-year-old's plane suddenly dove straight into the ground and caught on fire.—
Charna Flam,
PEOPLE,
29 Oct. 2025
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The film recreates the circumstances that surrounded Hind Rajab’s actual killing in January 2024, in which Red Crescent volunteers struggled to send an ambulance to rescue the child, who was trapped under fire in Gaza.—
Ryan Lattanzio,
IndieWire,
28 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Developed in collaboration with firefighters and landowners, Seneca claims its scalable aerial units will redefine how wildfires are detected, controlled, and contained in an era of growing climate risk.—
Jijo Malayil,
Interesting Engineering,
25 Oct. 2025
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The wildfire has been burning on private land.—
CA WILDFIRE BOT,
Sacbee.com,
25 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Linked by the fire, a cashier, fire-fighter, district attorney and student battle to prevent tragedy, the blaze’s consequences still roiling two decades later.—
John Hopewell,
Variety,
28 Oct. 2025
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By Tuesday morning, the blaze has been fully contained.—
CA WILDFIRE BOT,
Sacbee.com,
28 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Arson.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/arson. Accessed 29 Oct. 2025.
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