Meaning & use
inflamed
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Meanings
adjectivecomparablemedical
Red, swollen, hot and often painful, because part of the body is infected or injured.
Grammar: Used before a noun or after be: an inflamed throat, the joint is inflamed.
Patterns
- an inflamed throat
- become inflamed
The doctor said my throat was badly inflamed.
Her inflamed knee made it hard to climb stairs.
The cut became inflamed after a few days.
adjectivecomparablefigurative
Made very angry or excited, especially by strong words or events.
Grammar: Usually describes emotions or crowds; often followed by by or with: inflamed by the speech.
Patterns
- inflamed by something
- inflamed with something
The crowd was inflamed by the speaker's angry words.
His inflamed temper made the talks harder.
Passions were inflamed after the unfair decision.
Word forms
| comparative | more inflamed |
|---|---|
| superlative | most inflamed |
Common combinations
- red and inflamed
- The skin around the wound was red and inflamed.
- become inflamed
- The joint can become inflamed after heavy exercise.
- inflamed throat
- An inflamed throat can make swallowing painful.
- inflamed tension
- The remarks inflamed tension between the two sides.
- inflamed by rumors
- The town was inflamed by rumors.
Synonyms and how they differ
- swollen
- Swollen only describes the size increase, while inflamed also suggests redness, heat and irritation.
- sore
- Sore describes pain only, not the visible redness and swelling that inflamed suggests.
- irritated
- Irritated is milder and can describe skin or feelings, whereas inflamed suggests a stronger reaction.
- incensed
- Incensed means very angry and is only about emotion, whereas inflamed has both the body and the emotional sense.
Opposites
Word family
- inflame verb
- to cause swelling or to make emotions stronger
- inflammation noun
- redness and swelling in part of the body
- inflammatory adjective
- causing inflammation or strong anger
- anti-inflammatory adjective
- reducing inflammation
Commonly confused: inflamed or enflamed? inflamed or inflammable?
inflamed vs enflamed
Enflamed is a rare spelling variant of inflamed. Use inflamed in almost all writing.
inflamed vs inflammable
Inflammable means easily set on fire, but it is not about swelling. Flammable is the clearer word for that meaning.
Practice
After the insect bite, the skin around it became red, swollen and ____.
Choose one answer.
Inflamed describes tissue that is red, swollen and sore. Inflated means filled with air, which is a tempting but wrong choice.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “inflamed”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.