Ignite

//ɪɡˈnaɪt// verb

verb ·Common ·High school level

Definitions

Verb
  1. 1
    to set fire to (something), to light (something) transitive
  2. 2
    start or maintain a fire in wordnet
  3. 3
    to spark off (something), to trigger transitive

    "ignite curiosity"

  4. 4
    arouse or excite feelings and passions wordnet
  5. 5
    to commence burning. intransitive
Show 3 more definitions
  1. 6
    cause to start burning; subject to fire or great heat wordnet
  2. 7
    To subject to the action of intense heat; to heat strongly; often said of incombustible or infusible substances. transitive

    "to ignite iron or platinum"

  3. 8
    start to burn or burst into flames wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
fireconflagrateinflameinflamelightcatch fire

Example

More examples

"Sometimes, I think the president is just trying to ignite a controversy when he gives a speech."

Etymology

From Latin ignītus, past participle of igniō, ignire (“to set on fire, ignite”), from Latin ignis (“fire”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₁n̥gʷnis, and thus related to Sanskrit अग्नि (agní), Lithuanian ugnis, and Russian ого́нь (ogónʹ).

Related phrases

self-igniteset fire tospark off

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.