Link Centre Dictionary

ignite

ig·nite

UK/ɪɡˈnaɪt/ US/ˌɪˈɡnaɪt/ uncommon

verb

1.

cause to start burning; subject to fire or great heat

  • “Great heat can ignite almost any dry matter”
  • “Light a cigarette”
Synonyms
Antonyms
2.

start to burn or burst into flames

  • “Marsh gases ignited suddenly”
  • “The oily rags combusted spontaneously”
Synonyms
3.

arouse or excite feelings and passions

  • “The ostentatious way of living of the rich ignites the hatred of the poor”
  • “The refugees”
  • “;”
Synonyms

Origin

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 words

Word family

Broader terms

Narrower terms

Related verbs

Causes

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.