variants
or smouldered
1
as in burnt
to be excited or emotionally stirred up with anger
She smoldered when first learning of her son's misbehavior at school, but had calmed down by the time he arrived home.
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2
as in blazed
to be on fire usually with smoke but few flames
They look forward to those long summer nights telling stories beside a smoldering campfire.
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Recent Examples of smoldered
Authorities have arrested 29-year-old Jonathan Rinderknecht, accusing him of purposefully igniting a New Year’s Day fire that smoldered for days and later exploded into the deadly Palisades Fire that devastated California.
—
Sarah Rumpf-Whitten, FOXNews.com, 8 Oct. 2025
Jonathan Rinderknecht, a 29-year-old man accused of setting the most destructive blaze in Los Angeles history, likely used a lighter to start a small fire on New Year’s Day that smoldered underground for days before reigniting in high winds and killing 12 people, federal authorities said Wednesday.
—Gabe Whisnant, MSNBC Newsweek, 8 Oct. 2025
The fire smoldered for a week before reigniting under heavy winds and growing into the Palisades Fire.
—Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 8 Oct. 2025
Some buildings still smoldered from the fires of the day before, and soldiers carrying rifles enforced a nationwide curfew.
—Lex Harvey, CNN Money, 10 Sep. 2025
Throughout the 2000s, the actor smoldered on series like Dawson's Creek (2001–2002), and One Tree Hill (2003–2012), not to mention the films A Cinderella Story (2004) and House of Wax (2005).
—Mekishana Pierre, EW.com, 1 Sep. 2025
The cause and aftermath of the explosions remain under investigation by state and federal agencies, but questions of improper permitting and licensing, and the appearance of local conflicts of interest, began surfacing as the remnants of the property still smoldered.
—Ethan Wolin, Sacbee.com, 7 Aug. 2025
Sarah Rumpf-Whitten, FOXNews.com, 8 Oct. 2025
Jonathan Rinderknecht, a 29-year-old man accused of setting the most destructive blaze in Los Angeles history, likely used a lighter to start a small fire on New Year’s Day that smoldered underground for days before reigniting in high winds and killing 12 people, federal authorities said Wednesday.
—Gabe Whisnant, MSNBC Newsweek, 8 Oct. 2025
The fire smoldered for a week before reigniting under heavy winds and growing into the Palisades Fire.
—Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 8 Oct. 2025
Some buildings still smoldered from the fires of the day before, and soldiers carrying rifles enforced a nationwide curfew.
—Lex Harvey, CNN Money, 10 Sep. 2025
Throughout the 2000s, the actor smoldered on series like Dawson's Creek (2001–2002), and One Tree Hill (2003–2012), not to mention the films A Cinderella Story (2004) and House of Wax (2005).
—Mekishana Pierre, EW.com, 1 Sep. 2025
The cause and aftermath of the explosions remain under investigation by state and federal agencies, but questions of improper permitting and licensing, and the appearance of local conflicts of interest, began surfacing as the remnants of the property still smoldered.
—Ethan Wolin, Sacbee.com, 7 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for smoldered
Verb
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Duffy's threat came as flight delays, caused in large part by controllers calling out sick, has snarled air traffic across the country for four straight days.—
Corky Siemaszko,
NBC news,
9 Oct. 2025
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But before Endurance could reach the shore, it got snarled in dense sea ice in January 1915, leaving the ship and its crew stranded.—
Joe Hernandez,
NPR,
8 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Along with his 36-yard touchdown catch in the third quarter, Dowdle blazed through the Cowboys’ defensive front with ease all afternoon.—
Charlotte Observer,
Charlotte Observer,
12 Oct. 2025
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The arrangement essentially blazed a path to a streaming future that had yet to unfold via Netflix, which at the time of the Apple deal was still entirely focused on shipping movie DVDs by mail.—
Andrew Wallenstein,
Variety,
10 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Indeed, after the pandemic—which initially decimated sales but then led to a surge in business that overwhelmed REI’s supply chain and operations—Artz made moves that angered many employees.—
Phil Wahba,
Fortune,
10 Oct. 2025
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The real estate developer who angered Benbrook residents this past summer with his plan to build in a floodplain has been indicted on felony charges in Parker County for alleged misappropriation of funds and theft.—
Matthew Adams,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
9 Oct. 2025
Verb
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The watch is the perfect fitness partner and will track steps, calories burned, your heart rate and more.—
Christopher Murray
may earn a commission if you buy through our referral links. This content was created by a team that works independently from the Fox newsroom.,
FOXNews.com,
16 Oct. 2025
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There have been other attacks on attorney general officials in Baja California, including vehicles burned last month in Mesa de Otay and Playas de Tijuana.—
Alexandra Mendoza,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
16 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Richardson sustained the injury and was hospitalized after a stretching band snapped, sending an attached pole forcibly against his face.—
Matt Audilet,
MSNBC Newsweek,
15 Oct. 2025
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Yet when Nelson applied force in the opposite direction, the phone snapped in half, not at the hinge but along the antenna lines on the left side.—
Aamir Khollam,
Interesting Engineering,
14 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Philadelphia glowed with fresh patriotic spirit.—
Victoria Flexner,
The Atlantic,
9 Oct. 2025
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The mountains glowed with golden light, evoking a sense of enchantment and possibility.—
Lisa Greissinger,
Travel + Leisure,
4 Oct. 2025
Verb
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News Round-Up The USA’s Under-20s steamed into the quarter-finals of the World Cup in Chile yesterday, wiping the floor with Italy.—
Phil Hay,
New York Times,
10 Oct. 2025
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Unlike most apple pie recipes, this one calls for the apples to be steamed in a steamer basket.—
Phoebe Evans,
Southern Living,
1 Oct. 2025
Verb
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This summer, Kwame Nkrumah’s transatlantic legacy flickered back into view when Zohran Mamdani won the Democratic primary in the New York City mayoral race.—
Kelefa Sanneh,
New Yorker,
6 Oct. 2025
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Every time one of us said the girl’s name, the lights flickered.—
Maggie Menderski,
Louisville Courier Journal,
3 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Smoldered.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/smoldered. Accessed 17 Oct. 2025.
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