FLAME

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IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does flame mean? 

• FLAME (noun)
  The noun FLAME has 1 sense:

1. the process of combustion of inflammable materials producing heat and light and (often) smoke

  Familiarity information: FLAME used as a noun is very rare.

• FLAME (verb)
  The verb FLAME has 3 senses:

1. shine with a sudden light

2. be in flames or aflame

3. criticize harshly, usually via an electronic medium

  Familiarity information: FLAME used as a verb is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• FLAME (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

The process of combustion of inflammable materials producing heat and light and (often) smoke

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural processes

Synonyms:

fire; flame; flaming

Context example:

fire was one of our ancestors' first discoveries

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

burning; combustion (a process in which a substance reacts with oxygen to give heat and light)

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

blaze; blazing (a strong flame that burns brightly)

flare (a sudden burst of flame)

ignition (the process of initiating combustion or catching fire)

Derivation:

flame (be in flames or aflame)

• FLAME (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they flame    ... he / she / it flames   
Past simple: flamed   
Past participle: flamed   
-ing form: flaming   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Shine with a sudden light

Classified under:

Verbs of raining, snowing, thawing, thundering

Synonyms:

flame; flare

Context example:

The night sky flared with the massive bombardment

Hypernyms (to "flame" is one way to...):

beam; shine (emit light; be bright, as of the sun or a light)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s

Sentence examples:

Lights flame on the horizon
The horizon is flameing with lights

Also:

flame up (burn brightly)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Be in flames or aflame

Classified under:

Verbs of raining, snowing, thawing, thundering

Context example:

The sky seemed to flame in the Hawaiian sunset

Hypernyms (to "flame" is one way to...):

burn; combust (undergo combustion)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s

Derivation:

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

Sense 3

Meaning:

Criticize harshly, usually via an electronic medium

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Context example:

the person who posted an inflammatory message got flamed

Hypernyms (to "flame" is one way to...):

castigate; chasten; chastise; correct; objurgate (censure severely)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s somebody

 Context examples 

His energy is still intact; in fact, he is like a living flame.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

But, to be sure, the good lady who showed us his house did give him a most flaming character!

(Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen)

“I cannot see that there is anything very funny,” cried our client, flushing up to the roots of his flaming head.

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

Then, like one from the dead, he sprang upright, eyes flaming, sweat pouring down his face, shouting: I licked you, Cheese-Face! It took me eleven years, but I licked you!

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

You hold your own pipe to the lamp, and see how naturally you, being right-handed, hold the left side to the flame.

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

It burned like tinder, and by the time she reached the spot, nothing could be seen but flames.

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

Then his nose touched the flame, and at the same instant his little tongue went out to it.

(White Fang, by Jack London)

They were coated solidly with ice, and the two men kept them on the run around the fire, sweating and thawing, so close that they were singed by the flames.

(The Call of the Wild, by Jack London)

Again we saw the dim silhouette of a crouching man and the whisk of the small flame across the window as the signals were renewed.

(His Last Bow, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Issue associated with device-related burn with an unsteady flame.

(Flare or Flash Medical Device Problem, Food and Drug Administration)