incendiary
incendiary — adjective
- incendiarypositive
- more incendiarycomparative
- most incendiarysuperlative
1. made or used to start fires on purpose, especially as a weapon or in an act of a
made or used to start fires on purpose, especially as a weapon or in an act of arson.
Salma reported that an incendiary device had been left outside the police station.
collocation: incendiary device / bomb / weapon
Wartime planes dropped incendiary bombs on the city to set wooden houses on fire.
attributive use before a concrete noun (bomb)
Investigators traced the warehouse blaze to an incendiary mixture of petrol and oil rags.
The army uses an incendiary round that bursts into flames on impact with metal.
- flammable
describes anything that catches fire easily; not limited to weapons
- combustible
more technical; about a material's ability to burn
- fire-resistant
designed not to burn
文法句型
incendiary + noun (device, bomb, attack, weapon)
用法筆記
Almost always attributive (before a noun) with weapons or fire-starting materials: device, bomb, weapon, round, grenade, mixture. Not used after 'be' to describe a person.
常見錯誤
2. likely to make people very angry or push them toward violence, used about words,
likely to make people very angry or push them toward violence, used about words, speeches, or writing on sensitive topics.
Hamza pulled the article from the website after readers called its headline incendiary.
predicative use: be / call X incendiary
The senator gave an incendiary speech that quickly spread through social media overnight.
collocation: incendiary speech / remarks / rhetoric
Critics warned that the minister's incendiary remarks about migrants could lead to street violence.
Naoko deleted her incendiary tweet after her boss complained about its tone the next morning.
- inflammatory
very close in meaning; slightly more common in news writing
- provocative
wider scope; meant to provoke any reaction, not only anger
- soothing
calming rather than stirring up
- conciliatory
aimed at calming a dispute
文法句型
incendiary + speech / language / remark / article
用法筆記
Topic is almost always something politically or socially sensitive (race, religion, migration, war). Distinguish from sense 1: only sense 2 describes speech, writing, or behaviour; sense 1 describes weapons and arson materials.
常見錯誤
incendiary — noun
1. a bomb or other weapon that is built to start a fire when it lands or explodes,
a bomb or other weapon that is built to start a fire when it lands or explodes, often used against fuel stores or wooden buildings.
During the raid, planes dropped hundreds of incendiaries on the harbour fuel tanks.
typical verb: drop incendiaries
A small incendiary thrown through the window set the wooden shop alight within seconds.
singular use: 'a small incendiary'
Soldiers loaded the truck with incendiaries before driving toward the enemy supply base.
The museum displays a wartime incendiary that failed to explode over the docks.
- firebomb
informal everyday word for the same thing
文法句型
an incendiary
drop / throw / use incendiaries
用法筆記
Often appears in plural with military verbs: drop, load, fire, use incendiaries. The fuller phrase 'incendiary bomb / device' is more common in everyday writing than the bare noun.
常見錯誤
2. a person who deliberately sets fire to buildings or other property, usually to c
a person who deliberately sets fire to buildings or other property, usually to commit a crime.
Police believe a single incendiary was behind the four warehouse fires last summer.
singular use referring to a criminal
The judge gave the convicted incendiary a long sentence for burning down two family homes.
noun phrase: convicted incendiary
Older crime novels often describe the incendiary slipping away into the night with a match.
Mira read in an old report that the incendiary had been caught near a burning shed.
文法句型
an incendiary (person)
用法筆記
Old-fashioned and rare in everyday English; 'arsonist' is the normal modern word. You will mostly see this sense in legal records, older crime writing, or formal news reports.
常見錯誤
3. a person who stirs up arguments, anger, or rebellion among others, usually by ma
a person who stirs up arguments, anger, or rebellion among others, usually by making strong public statements.
The old emperor saw the young preacher as a dangerous incendiary among the farmers.
modifier: dangerous / political incendiary
Historians describe Padma's grandfather as a quiet teacher, never a political incendiary.
negation pattern: not a political incendiary
Officials called the union leader an incendiary after his speech outside the steel factory gates.
In old newspapers, any writer who criticised the king was branded a dangerous incendiary.
- agitator
the normal modern word for someone stirring up a crowd
- firebrand
vivid; suggests a passionate public speaker
- rabble-rouser
negative; suggests cheap tricks to excite a crowd
- peacemaker
tries to calm disputes rather than start them
文法句型
a political / dangerous incendiary
用法筆記
Very rare; mostly historical or literary. Distinguish from sense 2: sense 2 sets fire to buildings; sense 3 sets fire to opinions and crowds. Modern writers normally use 'agitator', 'firebrand', or 'rabble-rouser' instead.