8 October 2017
conflagration
[kon-fluh-grey-shuh n]
noun
1. a destructive fire, usually an extensive one.
Origin of conflagration
Latin
1545-1555; < Latin conflagrātiōn- (stem of conflagrātiō), equivalent to conflagrāt(us) past participle of conflagrāre to burn up ( con- con- + flagr- (akin to fulgur lightning, flamma flame, Greek phlóx; see phlox ) + -ātus -ate1) + -iōn- -ion
Related forms
conflagrative, adjective
See flame.
Dictionary.com
Examples from the Web for conflagration
Contemporary Examples
The fires that corporate America lit have now become a conflagration beyond its control.
The South Has Indeed Risen Again and It’s Called the Tea Party
Jack Schwartz
December 7, 2013
A century ago, miscalculation was greatly to blame for thrusting Europe into a conflagration.
Mideast War in Our Time?
Jamie Dettmer
May 30, 2013
The Boston Marathon bombings reminded the world how quickly a celebration can turn into a conflagration.
Dutch Coronation Celebrations Clouded After Boston Marathon Bombing
Nadette De Visser
April 28, 2013
The canisters, McMahon said, are to blame for the conflagration.
How Christopher Dorner Went Down
Christine Pelisek
February 13, 2013
The conflagration in Congress is spreading to singe, if not consume, critical decisions across the board.
Washington’s Endless Civil War
Robert Shrum
January 10, 2013
Historical Examples
Isabel herself had scarcely time for escape, so rapid was the conflagration.
Leila, Complete
Edward Bulwer-Lytton
You’re liable to start a conflagration you can’t stop, and that may consume yourself, is all.
Good Indian
B. M. Bower
Then a shower of sparks rose high in the air and the conflagration subsided.
The Downfall
Emile Zola
Presently, as the conflagration waned, they opened their eyes.
Astounding Stories of Super-Science, August 1930
Various
“A costly blaze that,” said Hoare, as he watched the conflagration.
Roland Cashel
Charles James Lever
Anagram
carnation flog
nonfatal corgi
fatal crooning
factoring loan
Today’s quote
You don’t need anybody to tell you who you are or what you are. You are what you are!
– John Lennon
On this day
8 October 1769 – Captain James Cook lands at Poverty Bay, New Zealand.
8 October 1939 – birth of Paul Hogan, Australian actor.
8 October 1970 – Soviet dissident author, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn wins Nobel Price for Literature. Author of ‘The Gulag Archipelago‘.
8 October 1971 – John Lennon releases the iconic song, ‘Imagine’.
8 October 1980 – Bob Marley collapses on stage in New York. The following day he collapses while jogging in Central Park. He is diagnosed with a brain tumour, which developed from a melanoma that had spread from his toe. He died on 11 May 1981.