burn 1 of 2

verb

ˈbərn How to pronounce burn (audio)
Definition of burnnext
1
as in to glow
to be on fire especially brightly all evening long we just sat there, contentedly watching the Yule log burn

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance
2
as in to scorch
to set (something) on fire it is not a good idea to try to burn old papers in the sink

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in to steam
to be excited or emotionally stirred up with anger he came home burning with anger because of a reprimand at work

Synonyms & Similar Words
4
as in to flame
to shine with a bright harsh light the bright streetlight outside our motel room burned all night long

Synonyms & Similar Words
5
as in to deceive
to cause to believe what is untrue he's been burned before, so he's careful to double-check such claims now

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
6
as in to consume
to make complete use of heedlessly burning the country's resources without any concern for future generations

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

burn

2 of 2

noun

British
as in brook
a natural body of running water smaller than a river the walkers forded the shallow burn and then came upon a field of gorse

Synonyms & Similar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of burn
Verb
Such interactions can light a fuse that may burn throughout a school year, only to erupt when students arrive for a new semester driving their parents’ car. — Courtland Milloy, Washington Post, 12 Sep. 2023 William Lucas, 8, survived after Tonya Lucas’ boyfriend at the time rescued him from the burning home. — Alex Mann, Baltimore Sun, 12 Sep. 2023
Noun
Staff also notifies local authorities before initiating a prescribed burn and after the burn is complete. — Aurora Beacon-News, Chicago Tribune, 7 Mar. 2025 One employee sustained minor superficial burns and was evaluated on scene. — Pj Green, Kansas City Star, 6 Mar. 2025 See All Example Sentences for burn
Recent Examples of Synonyms for burn
  1. glow
  2. scorch
  3. steam
  4. flame
  5. deceive
  6. consume
  7. brook
  8. blaze
Verb
  • Luckily, fake tanners is one of the best ways to get glowing quick, without any harm to your skin.
    — Ariana Yaptangco, Glamour, 10 Mar. 2025
  • The information about the institute which has avoided the memory hole just sits there, though this makes some of it glow brighter.
    — Jackson Arn, The New Yorker, 10 Mar. 2025
Definition of glow
Verb
  • Jana remembers those hours early on Jan. 8, her 49th birthday, when, from the Palisades to Eaton Canyon, tens of thousands of Angelenos were overrun by wind, flames and embers that scorched and raced like bullets.
    — Jeffrey Fleishman, Los Angeles Times, 9 Mar. 2025
  • The landing site was significantly hotter: a scorching 355ºK (82°C or just under 180°F), at least 20ºK higher than predicted.
    — Tom Hawking, Popular Science, 6 Mar. 2025
Definition of scorch
Verb
  • Once the milk begins to steam, add in 24 large marshmallows.
    — Sarah Martens, Better Homes & Gardens, 9 Mar. 2025
  • With scores of empty seats on one side of the aisle, Trump was unapologetic, vowing to steam ahead with his plans to fundamentally remake Washington.
    — Eric Cortellessa, TIME, 5 Mar. 2025
Definition of steam
Verb
  • The Associated Press Nearly two months after an explosion sent flaming debris raining down on the Turks and Caicos, SpaceX launched another mammoth Starship rocket on Thursday, but lost contact minutes into the test flight as the spacecraft came tumbling down and broke apart.
    — arkansasonline.com, arkansasonline.com, 6 Mar. 2025
  • Three minutes after that, the rocket's self-destruct system triggered an explosion that broke the Starship apart, producing a spectacular shower of flaming debris that rained down along the flight path.
    — William Harwood, CBS News, 6 Mar. 2025
Definition of flame
Verb
  • But appearances can be deceiving because there's a lot of bright side here.
    — Shubham Yewale, PCMAG, 10 Mar. 2025
  • Trips down memory lane, especially when Star Wars video games are involved, can be deceiving.
    — Fran Ruiz, Space.com, 7 Mar. 2025
Definition of deceive
Verb
  • While food safety recalls often focus on bacterial contamination, broken glass presents an immediate physical hazard that can result in cuts or injuries before the product is even consumed.
    — Stephanie Gravalese, Forbes, 16 Mar. 2025
  • One study conducted at Henry Ford Health’s Sleep Disorders and Research Center found that participants who drank a high dose of alcohol before bed initially slept longer than those who consumed a low dose or none.
    — Julianna Bragg, CNN, 15 Mar. 2025
Definition of consume
Noun
  • The mass-participation ball game involves two teams, whose players are decided according to which side of the town's small brook they were born on.
    — Alan Taylor, The Atlantic, 7 Mar. 2025
  • These graves were on the south side of the brook that divides the site, and on the north side archaeologists found three more sets of remains that had been dispersed, begging the question of why there would be two different kinds of burials from the same time periods in different areas of the site.
    — Irene Wright, Miami Herald, 5 Feb. 2025
Definition of brook
Verb
  • And the piece is acted in this Broadway transfer with all ensemble guns blazing, replete with deeply immersive performances also from Latanya Richardson-Jackson, Harry Lennix, Kara Young and, playing the authorial alter-ego, Jon Michael Hill.
    — Chris Jones, New York Daily News, 18 Mar. 2025
  • As seen in the trailer, Cervantes convinces Hayes to return to the track for a last shot at glory, but conflict ensues when he's teamed with Idris' Joshua Pearce, a hotshot rookie intent on blazing his own trail.
    — Mike Miller, EW.com, 13 Mar. 2025
Definition of blaze

Phrases Containing burn

Browse Nearby Words

burn
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Burn.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/burn. Accessed 24 Mar. 2025.

Copy Citation

Share

More from Merriam-Webster on burn

Nglish: Translation of burn for Spanish Speakers

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about burn

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

The Difference Between 'i.e.' and 'e.g.'

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?

More Commonly Misspelled Words
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

What do SCOTUS, POTUS, and FLOTUS mean?

Flower Etymologies For Your Spring Garden

More Words with Remarkable Origins

Terroir, Oenophile, & Magnum: Ten Words About Wine

8 Words for Lesser-Known Musical Instruments
See More

Popular Features

See More

The Difference Between 'i.e.' and 'e.g.'

What do SCOTUS, POTUS, and FLOTUS mean?

Flower Etymologies For Your Spring Garden
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Word Game Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
dog-in-disguise
Rhyme Disguise Quiz Pair up words that look different but sound alike.
See All