Meanings
present singular third person smolders · participle present smoldering · participle past smoldered · past smoldered · alternative British smoulder
- USintransitiveTo burn slowly, giving off smoke but with little to no flame.
The remains of the bonfire were left to smolder for hours.
2 more examples
Our quiuering Lances ſhaking in the aire, And bullets like Ioues dreadfull Thunderbolts, Enrolde in flames and fiery ſmoldering miſtes, Shall threat the Gods more than Cyclopian warres, […]
c. 1587–1588 (date written), [Christopher Marlowe], Tamburlaine the Great. […] The First Part […], 2nd edition, part 1, London: […] [R. Robinson for] Richard Iones, […], published 1592, →OCLC; reprinted as Tamburlaine the Great (A Scolar Press Facsimile), Menston, Yorkshire; London: Scolar Press, 1973, →ISBN, Act II, scene iiiBehind him, where the deer had been, smoldered a large circle of grass and trees.
2003, Christopher Paolini, “Discovery”, in Eragon, page 7 - figurativelyintransitiveTo exist in a suppressed or hidden state.
plural smolders · alternative British smoulder
- The act of smoldering or something that smolders.
And she’s got a great scene partner in Stevens, refining his star power into a just slightly, almost imperceptibly mechanical approximation of Don Juan smolder. He lets us admire the interface and still see the code ticking away underneath it.
2021 September 16, A. A. Dowd, “Dan Stevens as a dashing robot lover? That computes”, in AV Club
Synonyms & antonyms
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Proto-West Germanic*smolōn“to burn, glow, fume, smoulder”
- Middle Englishsmolder“smoke, smoky vapour”
- Middle Englishsmolderen“to suffocate, stifle”
- Englishsmolder
From Middle English smolderen (“to suffocate, stifle”), from Middle English smolder (“smoke, smoky vapour”), ultimately from Proto-West Germanic *smolōn (“to burn, glow, fume, smoulder”). Related to Proto-West Germanic *smallijan (> English smell).
More words from Middle English, Proto-West Germanic
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Afrikaans smeul
- smeulto burn slowly with smoke but no flame
Ancient Greek σμύχω
- σμύχω (smúkhō)to burn slowly with smoke but no flame
Bulgarian тлея
- тлея (tleja)to burn slowly with smoke but no flame
Chinese Mandarin 陰燃 /阴燃
- 陰燃 /阴燃 (yīnrán)to burn slowly with smoke but no flame
Czech doutnat
- doutnatto burn slowly with smoke but no flame
Dutch smeulen
- smeulento burn slowly with smoke but no flame
Esperanto subbruli, bruleti
- subbrulito burn slowly with smoke but no flame
- bruletito burn slowly with smoke but no flame
Finnish kyteä, kyteä
- kyteäto burn slowly with smoke but no flame
- kyteäto show signs of repressed anger or suppressed mental turmoil or other strong emotion
French se consumer, couver
- se consumerto burn slowly with smoke but no flame
- couverto burn slowly with smoke but no flame
- ronger son freinto show signs of repressed anger or suppressed mental turmoil or other strong emotion
German schwelen, glimmen
- schwelento burn slowly with smoke but no flame
- glimmento burn slowly with smoke but no flame
Greek σιγοκαίω, υποκαίω
- σιγοκαίω (sigokaío)to burn slowly with smoke but no flame
- υποκαίω (ypokaío)to burn slowly with smoke but no flame
- καίω χωρίς φλόγα (kaío chorís flóga)to burn slowly with smoke but no flame
- σιγοκαίω (sigokaío)to show signs of repressed anger or suppressed mental turmoil or other strong emotion
Hungarian parázslik, parázslik
- parázslikto burn slowly with smoke but no flame
- parázslikto show signs of repressed anger or suppressed mental turmoil or other strong emotion
- parázslikto exist in a suppressed or hidden state
Italian ardere, covare
- ardereto burn slowly with smoke but no flame
- covareto show signs of repressed anger or suppressed mental turmoil or other strong emotion
Japanese 燻る
- 燻る (kusuburu)to burn slowly with smoke but no flame
Latvian gruzdēt
- gruzdētto burn slowly with smoke but no flame
Māori ponguru, popō
- ponguruto burn slowly with smoke but no flame
- popōto burn slowly with smoke but no flame
- mohuto burn slowly with smoke but no flame
- torohūto burn slowly with smoke but no flame
Polish tleć, tlić się
- tlećto burn slowly with smoke but no flame
- tlić sięto burn slowly with smoke but no flame
- gotować sięto show signs of repressed anger or suppressed mental turmoil or other strong emotion
Portuguese queimar/arder (sem chama)
- queimar/arder (sem chama)to burn slowly with smoke but no flame
Russian тлеть
- тлеть (tletʹ)to burn slowly with smoke but no flame
Scottish Gaelic cnàmh-loisg
- cnàmh-loisgto burn slowly with smoke but no flame
Spanish arder sin flama
- arder sin flamato burn slowly with smoke but no flame
Swedish pyra, pyra
- pyrato burn slowly with smoke but no flame
- pyrato show signs of repressed anger or suppressed mental turmoil or other strong emotion
- pyrato exist in a suppressed or hidden state
Ukrainian тлі́ти, же́вріти
- тлі́ти (tlíty)to burn slowly with smoke but no flame
- же́вріти (žévrity)to burn slowly with smoke but no flame
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with smolder
All rhymes →Cite this entry
smolder. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/smolder
“smolder.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/smolder. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “smolder,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/smolder.
Source: smolder on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.