combustible

comparative more combustible · superlative most combustible

1. Capable of burning.

   Dumping fertilizer on top of whatever mysterious goop was in the storage tank created a combustible mix which caught fire.

   2 more examples

   Sin is to the soul like fire to combustible matter.

   1692–1717, Robert South, Twelve Sermons Preached upon Several Occasions, volume (please specify |volume=I to VI), London

   The rest were undergoing special underbody cleaning safety checks at TfW depots, after speculation that the cause of the incidents may have been a build-up of engine oil and combustible material such as fallen leaves and general detritus.

   2023 March 22, “Network News: Class 175s withdrawn for safety checks after fires”, in RAIL, number 979, page 13

   Synonyms: flammable, inflammable[contronym]]ic senses> · Antonyms: incombustible, noncombustible, nonflammable, noninflammable, unflammable, inflammable[contronym]]ic senses>, fireproof, refractory

2. datedfigurativelyEasily kindled or excited; quick; fiery; irascible.

   Arnold, however, was a combustible character.

   1855–1859, Washington Irving, The Life of George Washington

   1 more example

   The world’s richest man has inserted himself in some of the world’s most combustible conflicts.

   2022 October 26, Cade Metz, Adam Satariano, Chang Che, “How Elon Musk Became a Geopolitical Chaos Agent”, in The New York Times, →ISSN

   Antonyms: incombustible, noncombustible, uncombustible

plural combustibles

1. A material that is capable of burning.

   A wheel, wrapt in combustibles, was kindled and rolled down the hill.

   1890, James George Frazer, The Golden Bough, volume 2, page 248

2. tobacco industryA cigarette or a similar product intended for smoking, as opposed to an electronic cigarette.

   In total three-quarters of the western Big Tobacco giants' sales last year came from so-called combustibles as vaping sales are plateauing.

   2025 June 14, “Big Tobacco stock rally reveals smokeless future is still a long way off”, in FT Weekend (Lex. section), London: The Financial Times Ltd., →ISSN, →OCLC, page 16