Word.ws English Dictionary

aflame

/əˈfleɪm/

aflame adverb: often preceded by set: in or into flames; so as to be burned by fire.

Adverb

aflame (comparative more aflame, superlative most aflame)

  1. Often preceded by set: in or into flames; so as to be burned by fire.
    • [T]hat blessed martyr, St. Thomas of Canterbury [Thomas Becket], sometime your predecessor, did withstand the unlawful requests of the prince of his time, but would still not only yield and bear with things not to be borne withal, but also set a-flame the fire already kindled— […]1555 September 16 (date written; Gregorian calendar), James Anthony Froude, quoting James Brooks, Bishop of Gloucester, “The Martyrs”, in History of England from the Fall of Wolsey to the Death of...
    • Thou wert the baite that Paris gave the dame, / Who in reward, ſet ſtately Troy aflame.1576, George Whetstone, “The Castle of Delight: […]”, in The Rocke of Regard, […], London: […] [H. Middleton] for Robert Waley, →OCLC; republished in J[ohn] P[ayne] Collier, editor, The Rocke of...
  2. (figuratively) In or into a colour like that of a flame.
    • The sky was soft and bright, but not so gorgeous as Kenyon had seen it, a thousand times, in America; for there the western sky is wont to be set aflame with breadths and depths of color, with which poets seek in vain to dye their verses, and which painters never dare to copy.1860, Nathaniel Hawthorne, “On the Battlements”, in The Marble Faun: Or, The Romance of Monte Beni. […], volume II, Boston, Mass.: Ticknor and Fields, →OCLC, page 50
    • The low sun had set aflame the numerous windows of a large building which turned slowly, demonstrating one huge chimney, then another, as the train clattered by.1938–1939 (date written; published 1941), Vladimir Nabokov, chapter 13, in The Real Life of Sebastian Knight (Penguin Book; 2199), Harmondsworth, Middlesex [London]: Penguin Books, published 1964...
  3. (figuratively) In or into a state of great activity or emotion (anger, excitement, etc.).
    • He who sent (If He sent) all those hearts aflame?1918, Margaret Widdemer, The Old Road to Paradise, Once When We Bought Valentines

Adjective

aflame (comparative more aflame, superlative most aflame)

  1. With flames coming from it; burning, flaming, in flames, on fire.
    • Workmen employed in the alcohol plant rushed out, their clothing aflames^([sic – meaning aflame]) and many groping their way, blinded by the fire.1930 February 19, “Ten workmen killed in eastern naphtha refinery explosion”, in Louis C[hase] Hiner, editor, Rushville Republican, volume 26, number 299, Rushville, Ind.: The Republican Company...
    Synonyms:
    ablaze, afire
  2. (figuratively) Having the colour of a flame.
    • In autumn the trees are aflame with colour.
    • Through the slats of the jalousies Bond looked across the little garden, aflame with hibiscus, bougainvillea and roses, which ended in the tiny crescent of white sand half obscured by the trunks of the palms.1954, Ian Fleming, “Beau Desert”, in Live and Let Die, London: Pan Books, published 1957, page 194
  3. (figuratively) In a state of great activity or emotion (anger, excitement, etc.).
    • She said nothing and simply stared at him, eyes aflame.
    • [M]en and women all a-flame / For action, all alive, and forced to prove / Their life by living out heart, brain, and nerve, […]1856, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, “Fifth Book”, in Aurora Leigh, London: Chapman and Hall, […], published 1857, →OCLC, page 192

Verb

aflame (third-person singular simple present aflames, present participle aflaming, simple past and past participle aflamed)

  1. (transitive) Synonym of inflame (“to set (something) on fire; (figurative) to intensify or kindle (a feeling, such as appetite or passion); to intensify or kindle a feeling in (someone)”).
    • So that we might serve God, / confirmed from above, / she [the Holy Spirit] tests us with fire / and aflames us with love.2002, John L. Bell, “God’s Spirit is Here”, in One is the Body: Songs of Unity and Diversity, Chicago, Ill.: GIA Publications, →ISBN, verse 3, page 79
    • Through nights while great darkness, / I aflamed killed beasts' heads, […]2002, Hillel Halkin, “The People Driven from Their Land by a Long-tailed Wildcat”, in Across the Sabbath River: In Search of a Lost Tribe of Israel, Boston, Mass.; New York, N.Y.: Houghton Mifflin...
    Synonyms:
    inflame
  2. (intransitive) Chiefly in the present participle: to be in flames or on fire; to blaze, to flare up.
    • [A]s regards Prince Yusuf, when Ibn Ibrahim left him, he felt love-lowe aflaming in his heart, […]1888, Richard F[rancis] Burton, transl. and editor, “The Loves of Al-Hayfa and Yusuf. [Night 693.]”, in Supplemental Nights to the Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night […], Shammar edition, volume...
    • She "believeth all things" and always gives him the benefit of the doubt. She "hopeth all things" will work out well, and keepeth that hope aflameth in her heart. (Yes, I'm having fun with this.)2006, Merrilee Browne Boyack, “No, Really, How Can I Change Him?”, in Strangling Your Husband is Not an Option: A Practical Guide to Dramatically Improving Your Marriage, Salt Lake City, Utah...

aflame meaning in Hindi, Urdu, Malayalam and Kannada

aflame in Hindi

with flames coming from it
प्रज्वलित prajvalit

aflame in Urdu

دہکتا, دمکتا, درخشاں, شعلہ زن

aflame in Malayalam

കത്തിക്കാളുന്ന, ജ്വാലയായി, പ്രകാശമായി, ആവേശമുള്ള

aflame in Kannada

ಬೆಳಗುತ್ತಾ, ಜ್ವಲಿಸುತ್ತಾ

Examples of aflame in a sentence

  • His rather large pointed ears were aflame as they were when he was pleasurably excited.1938–1939 (date written; published 1941), Vladimir Nabokov, chapter 8, in The Real Life of Sebastian Knight (Penguin Book; 2199)...
  • As for myself, I am all aflame with curiosity, and I devote my whole energies to the business of discovery from this moment.1859 November 26 – 1860 August 25, [William] Wilkie Collins, “The Narrative of Narrative of Walter Hartright, of Clement’s Inn, London”, in...
  • "No, it was n't foolish!" cried Helen, her eyes aflame.1908–1910 (date written; published 1910 October 18), E[dward] M[organ] Forster, “The Mystery Explained”, in Howards End, 1st American...
  • [T]he words lurking afar were not empty shells as they seemed, but were only waiting for the thought they already concealed to set them aflame and in motion.1938–1939 (date written; published 1941), Vladimir Nabokov, chapter 9, in The Real Life of Sebastian Knight (Penguin Book; 2199)...

All 13 example sentences with aflame

Synonyms of aflame

Forms of aflame

Adverb
comparativemore aflame
superlativemost aflame
Adjective
comparativemore aflame
superlativemost aflame
Verb
third-person singular presentaflames
present participleaflaming
past participleaflamed
pastaflamed

Origin of aflame

The adverb is derived from Late Middle English a-flame, from a- (prefix meaning ‘on’ forming adverbial phrases; or denoting being engaged in or occupied by an activity) + flame, flaume, flawme (“flame”). Flame, flawme is derived from Anglo-Norman flaumbe, flaume, and Old French flame, flambe, from Latin flamma, probably ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰel- (“to blaze, burn (?); bright flame, fire (?)”). By surface analysis, a- (prefix meaning ‘at; in; on’ denoting a condition, manner, or state) + flame (noun). The adjective is derived from the adverb, which is attested earlier.

From a- (intensifying prefix) + flame (verb). Flame is derived from Middle English flamen, flaumben, flaumen, flawmen (“to emit flames, blaze; to shine like fire, gleam; to arouse (an emotion), kindle; to give off (an odour); of an odour: to issue; (cooking) to baste (meat) with grease; to glaze (pastry)”), from Anglo-Norman flaumber, flaumer, and Old French flamber, flammer (“to blaze, burn”) (modern French flamber), from flambe, flamme (“flame”, noun) + -er (variant of -ier (suffix forming verbs)). Flamme is derived from Latin flamma (“fire; flame”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰel-, bʰl̥g- (“to blaze, burn; to glow, shine; to be bright or brightly coloured (?); bright flame, fire (?)”).

Words formed from aflame

Words that rhyme with aflame

37 more rhymesFewer rhymes

Questions about aflame

What does aflame mean?
Aflame means often preceded by set: in or into flames; so as to be burned by fire.
What is aflame in Hindi?
Aflame in Hindi is प्रज्वलित (prajvalit). See Aflame meaning in Hindi.
How do you use aflame in a sentence?
His rather large pointed ears were aflame as they were when he was pleasurably excited.
What part of speech is aflame?
Aflame can be an adverb, an adjective or a verb.
How do you pronounce aflame?
Aflame is pronounced /əˈfleɪm/ (UK).

Words near aflame in the dictionary

  1. aflagellate
  2. aflagellated
  3. aflagellates
  4. aflaj
  5. aflajes
  6. aflame
  7. aflamed
  8. aflames
  9. aflaming
  10. Aflao
  11. aflap

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: aflame (page history and authors); aflame (Urdu Wiktionary) (page history and authors); aflame (Malayalam Wiktionary) (page history and authors); aflame (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-aflame.wav, LL-Q1860 (eng)-Naomi Persephone Amethyst (NaomiAmethyst)-aflame.wav.

Cite this entry: “aflame.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/aflame. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.