combust — English Dictionary

Verb

1. To burn up, to burn away, to consume with fire.

   Usage

   • Dated
   • Transitive

   Synonyms

   combure

   Examples

   But if it be combuſted or burnt, it leaveth very much fixed Salt in its own aſhes.

   […] by combusting the steel in drillings in pure oxygen […]

   More examples (2)

   […] and the latter built bonfires and combusted the royal effigy in the uncommunicative confines of their rearward premises.

   […] and combusted the paper in a closed flask in an O₂ atmosphere (see Fig. 2).

2. To burn, to be consumed by fire; to catch fire.

   Usage

   • Intransitive

   Synonyms

   go up

   Examples

   More examples (1)

   Brom swore after that he spoke only the truth, the truth that as he sat by my side praying for my soul, my body had combusted into flame, the fire rapidly engulfing my entire being.

3. To burn, to be consumed by fire; to catch fire. To erupt with enthusiasm or boisterousness.

   Usage

   • Figurative
   • Intransitive

   Examples

   The audience combusts.

Adjective

1. Burnt.

   Usage

   • Obsolete

2. In close conjunction with the sun (so that its astrological influence is "burnt up"), sometimes specified to be within 8 degrees 30'.

   Examples

   Guianerius had a patient could make Latin verses when the moon was combust, otherwise illiterate.

   More examples (1)

   Who can discern those planets that are oft Combust, and those stars of brightest magnitude that rise and set with the Sun, untill the opposite motion of their orbs bring them to such a place in the firmament, where they may be seen evning or morning.

Noun

1. That which undergoes burning.

   Usage

   • Obsolete

   Related words

   comburecomburentcombustibilitycombustiblecombustioncombustivecombustorincombustibilityincombustiblenoncombustibleuncombustible

Verb

1. cause to burn or combust

   Synonyms

   burn

   Broader terms

   changealtermodify

   Examples

   The sun burned off the fog

   We combust coal and other fossil fuels

2. start to burn or burst into flames

   Synonyms

   eruptignitecatch firetake fireconflagrate

   Broader terms

   change stateturn

   Examples

   Marsh gases ignited suddenly

   The oily rags combusted spontaneously

3. get very angry and fly into a rage

   Synonyms

   flip one's lidblow upthrow a fithit the roofhit the ceilinghave kittenshave a fitblow one's stackfly off the handleflip one's wiglose one's temperblow a fusego ballistic

   Broader terms

   rage

   Examples

   The professor combusted when the student didn't know the answer to a very elementary question

   Spam makes me go ballistic

4. cause to become violent or angry

   Broader terms

   anger

   Examples

   Riots combusted Pakistan after the U.S. air attacks on Afghanistan

5. undergo combustion

   Synonyms

   burn

   Broader terms

   change stateturn

   Examples

   Maple wood burns well