conflagration

/ˌkɒnfləˈɡreɪʃn/ (bre, ipa) · /ˌkɑːnfləˈɡreɪʃn/ (ame, ipa) · /ˌkän-flə-ˈgrā-shən/ (ame, mw)

conflagration — 名詞

  • conflagrationsingular
  • conflagrationsplural

1. an extensive, fast-moving fire that destroys buildings, forests, or wide areas o

1.名詞C2
釋義

大火；火災

造成重大破壞的猛烈大火

an extensive, fast-moving fire that destroys buildings, forests, or wide areas of land, usually requiring many firefighters to bring under control.

例句

The summer drought turned a single spark into a conflagration that swept through five villages.

夏季的乾旱讓一個小火花變成一場席捲五個村莊的大火。

noun head of result clause: 'turned X into a conflagration'

Firefighters from three states battled the warehouse conflagration for nearly two days.

來自三個州的消防員奮戰將近兩天，才控制住這場倉庫大火。

modifier + head: '[location] conflagration'

同義詞
  • inferno

    similar scale and drama; slightly more vivid and journalistic

  • blaze

    any sizeable fire; less formal and not necessarily as destructive

  • wildfire

    specifically an out-of-control fire in forests or open country

用法筆記

Strongly formal; common in news reports and historical writing. Everyday speech uses 'fire', 'blaze', or 'wildfire' instead.

常見錯誤

❌I lit a conflagration in the fireplace.
✅I lit a fire in the fireplace.
💡a conflagration is a destructive blaze, not a small controlled fire.

2. a large, destructive outbreak of fighting or war that draws in many people or co

2.名詞C2
釋義

大規模衝突

牽連廣泛的大規模戰爭或衝突

a large, destructive outbreak of fighting or war that draws in many people or countries — used as a vivid metaphor extending the image of a spreading fire.

例句

Historians warned that the border dispute could ignite a wider regional conflagration.

歷史學家警告，這場邊界爭端可能引爆更廣泛的區域大規模衝突。

verb collocation: 'ignite a conflagration' (war metaphor)

By 1914, a single assassination in Sarajevo had grown into a continent-wide conflagration.

到了 1914 年，薩拉熱窩的一場暗殺事件已演變成席捲整個歐洲大陸的大規模衝突。

同義詞
  • war

    the plain term; conflagration emphasises scale, spread, and destructiveness

  • upheaval

    any major social disturbance; conflagration is more violent and fire-tinged

反義詞

用法筆記

Almost always metaphorical and rhetorical; appears in editorials and history books rather than ordinary speech. Distinguish from sense 1 by the absence of literal flames and the presence of war/violence vocabulary nearby.

常見錯誤

❌They had a small conflagration over the project.
✅They had a small argument over the project.
💡a conflagration in this sense means large-scale violence, not a minor disagreement.