Meaning & use
smoldered
Last updated
Burned slowly with smoke but little or no flame; or, figuratively, existed in a suppressed, simmering state.
See it in a sentence
The campfire smoldered long after everyone had gone to sleep.
Resentment smoldered between the two brothers for years before the argument.
A note on using this word
The figurative sense, describing barely contained emotion, is just as common as the literal fire sense.
Words with a similar meaning
simmeredglowed
Choose a synonym to suit the sentence. Meanings can overlap without being identical.
Words with an opposite meaning
blazed
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