Adjective: incendiary in'sen-dee,e-ree or in'sen-d(ee-)u-ree [N. Amer], in'sen-d(ee-)u-ree [Brit]
- Capable of catching fire spontaneously or causing fires or burning readily
"an incendiary agent"; "incendiary bombs"
- Involving deliberate burning of property
"an incendiary fire"
- Arousing to action or rebellion
"By contrast, such people fear charismatic or incendiary oratory because it seems to by-pass the rational faculties of the audience";
- incitive, inflammatory, instigative, rabble-rousing, seditious
- A bomb that is designed to start fires; is most effective against flammable targets (such as fuel)
"The incendiary bomb caused widespread destruction in the industrial area";
- incendiary bomb, firebomb
- A criminal who illegally sets fire to property
"The incendiary was caught on security cameras fleeing the burning building";
- arsonist, firebug [informal], fire-raiser [Brit]
Derived forms: incendiaries
See also: combustible, provocative
Type of: bomb, crim [Brit, informal], criminal, crook [informal], felon, malefactor [formal], outlaw
Encyclopedia: Incendiary