Meaning & use
old flame
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Meaning
nouncountableinformalold-fashioned
Someone you were once in a romantic relationship with, especially a person you still remember warmly.
Grammar: Countable and often possessive: an old flame, his old flame.
Patterns
- run into an old flame
- an old flame of someone's
I bumped into an old flame at the airport.
He sent a card to an old flame from college.
She said her date was an old flame she hadn't seen in years.
Word forms
| plural | old flames |
|---|
Common combinations
- run into an old flame
- I ran into an old flame at the supermarket.
- rekindle an old flame
- They tried to rekindle an old flame after twenty years.
- meet an old flame
- He met an old flame while on vacation.
- an old flame of mine
- The singer is an old flame of mine.
- a former old flame
- It was awkward to see a former old flame at the wedding.
Synonyms and how they differ
- ex
- Ex is blunter and may carry bad feelings, while old flame sounds fond and slightly nostalgic.
- former partner
- Former partner is neutral and formal, while old flame hints at past romance.
- former lover
- Former lover is more serious and intimate in tone than the light old flame.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: old flame or old fling?
old flame vs old fling
A fling is a short, casual affair, while an old flame may have been a serious relationship.
Practice
Anna met her ___ at a reunion and they talked about the years when they used to date.
Choose one answer.
An old flame is a past romantic partner. An old friend does not imply a romance, so it does not fit the dating detail.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “old flame”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.