smolder

Meaning

Verb

1. To burn with no flame and little smoke.
2. To show signs of repressed anger or suppressed mental turmoil or other strong emotion, such as passion.
3. To exist in a suppressed or hidden state.

Noun

The act of smoldering or something that smolders.

Synonyms

smoulder

smoke

smoulder

glow

sputter

boil

flush

foment

fume

give head

gleam

glint

blaze

incandesce

seethe

simmer

smother

bloat

glow with heat

seeth

give off smoke

come up

coal

ember

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈsmoʊldɚ/

Etymology

From Middle English smolderen (“to suffocate, stifle”), from Middle English smolder (“smoke, smoky vapour”), ultimately from Proto-West Germanic *smolōn (“to burn, glow, fume, smoulder”). Related to Proto-West Germanic *smallijan (> English smell).