as in to burn
to be on fire especially brightly
anthracite, which is naturally hard, combusts more cleanly than bituminous coal
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of combust
While many of the family squabbles do eventually combust, Headland seems to acquiesce here and treads a little too delicately.
—
Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 12 Dec. 2024
The plan seems destined to rival the negotiation process that Trump’s administration opened with Russia last month, and suggests a tacit acceptance that bringing Trump and Zelensky to the negotiating table together could result in tensions combusting once more.
—Rob Picheta, CNN, 2 Mar. 2025
In the Cold War, Washington—twice burned by Eurasian conflagrations—opted to keep the supercontinent from combusting again.
—Hal Brands, Foreign Affairs, 25 Feb. 2025
When combusted, biogas can produce significant amounts of heat, useful in various industrial and agricultural applications.
—Sergey Buchin, Forbes, 2 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for combust
Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 12 Dec. 2024
The plan seems destined to rival the negotiation process that Trump’s administration opened with Russia last month, and suggests a tacit acceptance that bringing Trump and Zelensky to the negotiating table together could result in tensions combusting once more.
—Rob Picheta, CNN, 2 Mar. 2025
In the Cold War, Washington—twice burned by Eurasian conflagrations—opted to keep the supercontinent from combusting again.
—Hal Brands, Foreign Affairs, 25 Feb. 2025
When combusted, biogas can produce significant amounts of heat, useful in various industrial and agricultural applications.
—Sergey Buchin, Forbes, 2 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for combust
Recent Examples of Synonyms for combust
Verb
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The pair, who met as college undergrads, both burned with idealism and recognized their privilege could be leveraged for a game-changing idea.—
Carole Horst,
Variety,
13 Sep. 2023
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The Ellen MacArthur Foundation promotes circular fashion and says that, in the United States, an amount of clothing equal to a garbage truck is ferried to landfills or burned every second.—
Neeti Mehra,
Treehugger,
13 Sep. 2023
Verb
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When reached by Vulture to comment on the apparent reference to her case, Carroll had only glowing words about her attorney.—
Victoria Bekiempis,
Vulture,
2 June 2025
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Saturn will glow in the sky to the right, and the sparkly Pleiades star cluster will be visible just to the pair’s left.—
Stephanie Vermillion,
Travel + Leisure,
2 June 2025
Verb
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The Empire Mica caught on fire, sending giant plumes of black smoke into the air and a massive puddle of flaming oil into the surrounding water.—
Asia London Palomba,
Smithsonian Magazine,
2 June 2025
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Yes, the Savannah Bananas’ brand of baseball is far too outlandish ever to be compared to the major leagues — from flaming baseballs, rump-shaking umps and dress rehearsals.—
Anthony De Leon,
Los Angeles Times,
1 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Combust.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/combust. Accessed 11 Jun. 2025.
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