BURNING

Pronunciation (US):

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IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does burning mean? 

• BURNING (noun)
  The noun BURNING has 6 senses:

1. the act of burning something

2. pain that feels hot as if it were on fire

3. a process in which a substance reacts with oxygen to give heat and light

4. execution by electricity

5. execution by fire

6. a form of torture in which cigarettes or cigars or other hot implements are used to burn the victim's skin

  Familiarity information: BURNING used as a noun is common.

• BURNING (adjective)
  The adjective BURNING has 1 sense:

1. of immediate import

  Familiarity information: BURNING used as an adjective is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• BURNING (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

The act of burning something

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

burning; combustion

Context example:

the burning of leaves was prohibited by a town ordinance

Hypernyms ("burning" is a kind of...):

change of integrity (the act of changing the unity or wholeness of something)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "burning"):

arson; fire-raising; incendiarism (malicious burning to destroy property)

firing; ignition; inflammation; kindling; lighting (the act of setting something on fire)

incineration (the act of burning something completely; reducing it to ashes)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Pain that feels hot as if it were on fire

Classified under:

Nouns denoting stable states of affairs

Synonyms:

burn; burning

Hypernyms ("burning" is a kind of...):

hurting; pain (a symptom of some physical hurt or disorder)

Sense 3

Meaning:

A process in which a substance reacts with oxygen to give heat and light

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural processes

Synonyms:

burning; combustion

Hypernyms ("burning" is a kind of...):

oxidation; oxidisation; oxidization (the process of oxidizing; the addition of oxygen to a compound with a loss of electrons; always occurs accompanied by reduction)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "burning"):

deflagration (combustion that propagates through a gas or along the surface of an explosive at a rapid rate driven by the transfer of heat)

fire; flame; flaming (the process of combustion of inflammable materials producing heat and light and (often) smoke)

internal combustion (the combustion of fuel inside a cylinder (as in an internal-combustion engine))

Sense 4

Meaning:

Execution by electricity

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

burning; electrocution

Hypernyms ("burning" is a kind of...):

capital punishment; death penalty; executing; execution (putting a condemned person to death)

Sense 5

Meaning:

Execution by fire

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

burning; burning at the stake

Hypernyms ("burning" is a kind of...):

capital punishment; death penalty; executing; execution (putting a condemned person to death)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "burning"):

auto-da-fe (the burning to death of heretics (as during the Spanish Inquisition))

Sense 6

Meaning:

A form of torture in which cigarettes or cigars or other hot implements are used to burn the victim's skin

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Hypernyms ("burning" is a kind of...):

torture; torturing (the deliberate, systematic, or wanton infliction of physical or mental suffering by one or more persons in an attempt to force another person to yield information or to make a confession or for any other reason)

• BURNING (adjective)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Of immediate import

Context example:

burning issues of the day

Similar:

important; of import (of great significance or value)

 Context examples 

Words used to describe very hot pain include 'burning' and 'on fire.'

(NPS - Tell Us How Hot Your Pain Feels, NCI Thesaurus)

Suddenly there was the momentary gleam of a light up in the direction of the ventilator, which vanished immediately, but was succeeded by a strong smell of burning oil and heated metal.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

It presents with pain and burning sensation in the eyes and photophobia.

(Ocular Cicatricial Pemphigoid, NCI Thesaurus)

The world's forests are increasingly taking up more carbon, partially offsetting the carbon being released by the burning of fossil fuels and by deforestation in the tropics, according to a new study.

(World's forests increasingly taking up more carbon, National Science Foundation)

Exposure to p-biphenylamine causes headaches, lethargy, cyanosis, urinary burning and hematuria. p-Biphenylamine is a mutagen and carcinogen in humans and is associated with an increased risk of developing bladder cancer.

(p-Biphenylamine, NCI Thesaurus)

It may be used on certain wounds and burns, and to treat the redness, burning, and peeling caused by radiation therapy.

(Biafine cream, NCI Dictionary)

The blind was down, and a strong light was burning in the room.

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

“Slow burning inflammation that’s burning in our body can cause a number of physical and psychiatric conditions,” he explained, pointing to a couple of examples.

(Anti-inflammatory Drugs Also Fight Depression, Voanews)

I had a night-light burning, however.

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

It is given off by burning fuel (as in exhaust from cars or household heaters) and tobacco products.

(Carbon monoxide, NCI Dictionary)