Conflagrant

Part of speech: adjective

Pronunciation: /kɒnˈfleɪɡɹənt/

Definitions

1. Burning intensely or blazing with great heat and flames
2. Characterized by widespread fire consuming an area with extreme heat and destructive force
3. Describing a massive, uncontrolled burning that spreads rapidly across a large region with intense flames

Etymology: "Conflagrant" is a straightforward Latin borrowing. It comes from "cōnflagrāns," the present participle of the verb "cōnflagrō," which combines the intensifying prefix "con-" (together, thoroughly) with "flagrō," meaning "to burn" or "to blaze." The same root gives English "flagrant" in its original sense of something blazing, so "conflagrant" and "flagrant" are close relatives that took very different paths. "Flagrant" moved from literal fire to a figurative sense of something glaringly visible, while "conflagrant" kept the image of fire itself, describing something burning furiously rather than something offensively obvious.

Synonyms: burning, ablaze

Antonyms: extinguished, quenched