as in to burn
to be on fire especially brightly
anthracite, which is naturally hard, combusts more cleanly than bituminous coal
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Recent Examples of combust
Austin McIntosh, a technician, and Kyle Fennig, a research assistant, grabbed a tool to measure how much of the soil had combusted.
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Manuela Andreoni, New York Times, 13 Aug. 2024
The debacle of Biden-Trump II was the exception that proves the rule—to meet the threshold for mattering, a sitting President must spontaneously combust on live TV.
—Jessica Winter, The New Yorker, 10 Sep. 2024
Although sustainable fuel is still combusted in the same way as regular gasoline, it is produced in part by capturing carbon from the atmosphere.
—Alistair Charlton, Forbes, 5 Sep. 2024
Immune to the fact it could currently be conceived as tone deaf to share pictures of the spoils of one’s gym routines are, of course, the Kardashians, who might spontaneously combust without sharing a flash of torso every now and again.
—Alice Newbold, Vogue, 8 Aug. 2024
See all Example Sentences for combust 
Manuela Andreoni, New York Times, 13 Aug. 2024
The debacle of Biden-Trump II was the exception that proves the rule—to meet the threshold for mattering, a sitting President must spontaneously combust on live TV.
—Jessica Winter, The New Yorker, 10 Sep. 2024
Although sustainable fuel is still combusted in the same way as regular gasoline, it is produced in part by capturing carbon from the atmosphere.
—Alistair Charlton, Forbes, 5 Sep. 2024
Immune to the fact it could currently be conceived as tone deaf to share pictures of the spoils of one’s gym routines are, of course, the Kardashians, who might spontaneously combust without sharing a flash of torso every now and again.
—Alice Newbold, Vogue, 8 Aug. 2024
See all Example Sentences for combust
Recent Examples of Synonyms for combust
Verb
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The pair, who met as college undergrads, both burned with idealism and recognized their privilege could be leveraged for a game-changing idea.Carole Horst, Variety, 13 Sep. 2023
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The Ellen MacArthur Foundation promotes circular fashion and says that, in the United States, an amount of clothing equal to a garbage truck is ferried to landfills or burned every second.Neeti Mehra, Treehugger, 13 Sep. 2023
Verb
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Users can see a developing fire on the map, represented by a glowing yellow dot well before its perimeter is reported to the NIFC.Kristin Shaw, Popular Science, 14 Nov. 2024
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One key incumbent appeared to be heading off a possible upset: That was Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard, who seemed likely to continue his astounding run as the only Republican to hold countywide office, even as Oakland County seemingly glows a brighter blue with each election.Bill Laytner, Detroit Free Press, 6 Nov. 2024
Verb
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The night starts off lightheartedly enough with aggrieved vice-principal Mr. Pearson calling 9-1-1 to demand firefighters extinguish the bag of flaming dog poop on his porch.Louis Peitzman, Vulture, 24 Oct. 2024
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After pulling up his camera on Hart Prairie, Richardson reported leaves this year are a duller orange-brown rather than a flaming yellow.Hayleigh Evans, The Arizona Republic, 23 Oct. 2024
Thesaurus Entries Near combust
Cite this Entry
“Combust.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/combust. Accessed 21 Nov. 2024.
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