Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun A raging, rapidly spreading fire.
- noun Something that acts very quickly and intensely.
- noun Lightning occurring without audible thunder.
- noun A luminosity that appears over swamps or marshes at night; ignis fatuus.
- noun A highly flammable material, such as Greek fire, once used in warfare.
- idiom (like wildfire) Rapidly and intensely.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun A composition of inflammable materials readily catching fire and hard to be extinguished; Greek fire: often used figuratively.
- noun Sheet-lightning; a kind of lightning unaccompanied by thunder.
- noun The blue flames of alcohol burnt in some dishes when brought on table, as with plum-pudding.
- noun In coal-mining, the name formerly sometimes given by miners to fire-damp.
- noun Erysipelas; also, lichen circumseriptus, an eruptive disease, consisting of clusters or patches of papulæ.
- noun A disease of sheep, attended with inflammation of the skin.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun A composition of inflammable materials, which, kindled, is very hard to quench; Greek fire.
- noun An old name for erysipelas.
- noun A disease of sheep, attended with inflammation of the skin.
- noun rare A sort of lightning unaccompanied by thunder.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun A
rapidly spreading fire , especially one occurring in awildland area. - noun historical
Greek fire , Byzantine fire. - noun A
spreading disease of theskin , particularlyerysipelas . - noun figuratively Something that acts
quickly anduncontrollably .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun a raging and rapidly spreading conflagration
Etymologies
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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And we live in San Diego, where clearly a Santa Ana wildfire is a more likely disaster.
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"The rumor spreading like wildfire is that there's another person in the mix."
Kroger report on Adams imminent, sources say (Jack Bog's Blog) 2009
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"The overall message that bark beetles do not increase the risk of wildfire is something that has been coming out of the scientific literature for a number of years," said Dominik Kulakowski, an assistant geography professor at Clark University in Massachusetts who was not involved in the Yellowstone study.
Study: Beetle invasions dampen, not intensify, wildfire risk Bettina Boxall 2010
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"The risk of wildfire is real and present, but that risk is associated with drought conditions," he said.
Study: Beetle invasions dampen, not intensify, wildfire risk Bettina Boxall 2010
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The rumor spreading like wildfire is that there's another person in the mix.
Kroger report on Adams imminent, sources say (Jack Bog's Blog) 2009
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That will make three straight years of below average precipitation, contributing to long-term wildfire danger.
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Confronting a potential 100 million metric tons of greenhouse gases seeping from rotting logs and leaves, the proliferation of nonnative plants, and a spike in wildfire risks, scientists and residents alike are raising new questions about the storm’s environmental legacy.’
Katrina Rated Largest U.S. Ecodisaster | Disinformation 2007
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Revis Daggett, co-owner of Wayside Inn B&B in Fort Davis, Texas, called the wildfire situation "gut-wrenching" last Sunday.
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Revis Daggett, co-owner of Wayside Inn B&B in Fort Davis, Texas, called the wildfire situation "gut-wrenching" last Sunday.
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The wildfire is the worst incident of its kind in the country, wreaking havoc on Kornat island, 30km 20 miles south of Zadar.
dailyword commented on the word wildfire
This can also be used as a weapon, as in the case of the battle of King's Landing.
June 26, 2012