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
His investigative know-how is supposedly legendary, but the arsons remain unsolved and there are new fires that keep following the same patterns.
—
Nina Metz, Chicago Tribune, 25 June 2025
The government does not have to prove that the defendant himself committed any of these predicate crimes (like arson).
—Adam Reiss, NBC news, 25 June 2025
Taron Egerton and Jurnee Smollett star in this true-crime series about an arson investigator and a detective searching for a serial arsonist.
—Kelly Lawler, USA Today, 24 June 2025
The prosecution has sought to convince the jury that Diddy oversaw a decades-long racketeering enterprise that relied on the loyalty of employees willing to do anything for him, including committing such crimes as arson, bribery, kidnapping and buying drugs.
—Joseph Wilkinson, New York Daily News, 21 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for arson
Nina Metz, Chicago Tribune, 25 June 2025
The government does not have to prove that the defendant himself committed any of these predicate crimes (like arson).
—Adam Reiss, NBC news, 25 June 2025
Taron Egerton and Jurnee Smollett star in this true-crime series about an arson investigator and a detective searching for a serial arsonist.
—Kelly Lawler, USA Today, 24 June 2025
The prosecution has sought to convince the jury that Diddy oversaw a decades-long racketeering enterprise that relied on the loyalty of employees willing to do anything for him, including committing such crimes as arson, bribery, kidnapping and buying drugs.
—Joseph Wilkinson, New York Daily News, 21 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for arson
Recent Examples of Synonyms for arson
Noun
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Donald Trump has ignited a five-alarm fire and the chaos has reached a fever pitch.—
Jeremy Gorner,
Chicago Tribune,
14 July 2025
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There are no questions about Bremner’s competitive fire, which was apparent throughout this season and especially in the second half.—
Mike Digiovanna,
Oc Register,
14 July 2025
Noun
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Despite the devastating wildfires that tore through the historic town of Lahaina in 2023, T+L readers showed their love of Maui by voting it the number one island in Hawaii this year.—
John Wogan,
Travel + Leisure,
8 July 2025
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Last week, the military announced about 200 of those troops would be returned to their units to fight wildfires.—
Christopher Weber,
Chicago Tribune,
8 July 2025
Noun
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The fire had ignited about 6 p.m. near the intersection of Hellyer Avenue and Silicon Valley Boulevard, according to the San Jose Fire Department, which battled the blaze with assistance from Cal Fire.—
Grant Stringer,
Mercury News,
7 July 2025
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The blaze has since been extinguished, but the cause of the explosion has not been confirmed.—
Mandy Taheri,
MSNBC Newsweek,
6 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Arson.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/arson. Accessed 18 Jul. 2025.
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