forburn

Meanings

verbforburn (third-person singular simple present forburns, present participle forburning, simple past and past participle forburned or forburnt)

present singular third person forburns · participle present forburning · participle past forburned · past forburned · participle past forburnt · past forburnt

obsoletetransitiveTo destroy or damage by burning.
[He] sent then a host thither and bade slay all the town-ship, and forburn the town.
1852, Alfred (King of England), The whole works of King Alfred the Great
Synonyms: burn away, burn down, burn up, cinder, incinerate, burn, burn away, burn down
intransitiveobsoleteTo burn; to be consumed by fire.
Synonyms: burn, combust, go up, burn, combust, go up, outburn, torch

verbTo destroy or damage by burning.

verbTo burn; to be consumed by fire.

Also see

From Middle English forburnen, forbrinnen, from Old English forbirnan (intransitive) and forbærnan (transitive), equivalent to for- + burn. Cognate with Saterland Frisian ferbaadenje, ferbaanje (“to burn up”), West Frisian ferbarne (“to burn up”), German Low German verbrannen (“to burn up”), German verbrennen (“to burn up, incinerate”).

Cite this entry

APA

forburn. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/forburn

MLA

“forburn.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/forburn. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “forburn,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/forburn.

Source: forburn on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.