firebug
firebug — 名詞
- firebugsingular
- firebugsplural
1. a person who starts fires on purpose, either to cause damage or because they fin
縱火犯
故意縱火或愛玩火的人
a person who starts fires on purpose, either to cause damage or because they find fire exciting
Police caught the firebug who set three barns on fire last summer.
警方抓到那名去年夏天放火燒了三間穀倉的縱火犯。
catch/arrest the firebug + relative clause naming the arson
The town feared a firebug after four empty houses burned down in one week.
一週內四間空屋接連燒毀後，鎮上的人開始害怕有縱火犯出沒。
Christopher's grandfather caught a young firebug lighting matches behind the wooden barn.
Christopher 的爺爺逮到一個躲在木造穀倉後面點火柴的小縱火狂。
Detectives believe the same firebug started both fires at the harbor warehouse.
警探認為港口倉庫的兩起火災都是同一名縱火犯所為。
the same firebug + linking one person to several fires
As a child, Sahil was a firebug who loved watching small fires in the yard.
Sahil 小時候是個縱火狂，很愛看院子裡的小火苗。
firebug who + clause describing a fascination with fire
- serial firebug
- suspected firebug
- arsonist
neutral legal term for someone who criminally sets fire to property
- pyromaniac
stresses a psychological compulsion to start fires, not just the crime
- incendiary
formal; can also mean a bomb or device built to start fires
用法筆記
Informal and a little old-fashioned; news reports and courts prefer 'arsonist', while 'firebug' sounds more casual and is often used of a child or amateur who is fascinated by fire rather than a serious criminal.