Burn — Meaning, Definition & Synonyms

verb noun /ˈbərn/

Meaning & Definition of Burn

Burn (verb)

  1. to consume fuel and give off heat, light, and gases
  2. to undergo combustion; also, to undergo nuclear fission or nuclear fusion
  3. to contain a fire

Burn (noun)

  1. an act, process, instance, or result of burning
  2. injury or damage resulting from exposure to fire, heat, caustics, electricity, or certain radiations
  3. a burned area
  4. creek

Burn (verb) — Senses, Synonyms & Antonyms

  1. to be on fire especially brightly

    "all evening long we just sat there, contentedly watching the Yule log burn"

    similar: blaze, combust, flame, glow, go up in flames
    related: catch, enkindle, deflagrate, fire, ignite, kindle, flare (up), light (up), flicker, gutter, waver, bake, broil, char, cook, melt, roast, scorch, swelter, smolder, spark, sputter, beam, brighten, radiate, beat (down), flash, glare, gleam, glimmer, glint, glisten, glitter, scintillate, shimmer, shine, sparkle, twinkle

  2. to set (something) on fire

    "it is not a good idea to try to burn old papers in the sink"

    similar: enkindle, fire, ignite, inflame, kindle, light, torch
    related: immolate, deflagrate, char, frizzle, scorch, bake, broil, cook, ash, cremate, incinerate, kiln, set off, brighten, illuminate, illumine, irradiate, lighten, radiate, scald, scathe, sear, reignite, rekindle, relight, bank, stoke
    opposite: douse, extinguish, put out, quench, snuff (out)
    near: choke, smother, suffocate, stamp (out), blacken, darken, dim, dull, obscure

  3. to be excited or emotionally stirred up with anger

    "he came home burning with anger because of a reprimand at work"

    similar: boil, foam, fume, rage, rankle, seethe, sizzle, steam, storm, see red
    related: fulminate, rant, rave, smolder, bristle, flare (up), inflame, chafe, fret, stew, agitate, convulse, roil, shake

  4. to shine with a bright harsh light

    "the bright streetlight outside our motel room burned all night long"

    similar: beat, blaze, flame, flare, glare
    related: beam, glow, radiate, flash, glance, gleam, glimmer, glint, glisten, glister, glitter, scintillate, shimmer, sparkle, twinkle, bedazzle, blind, daze, dazzle

  5. to cause to believe what is untrue

    "he's been burned before, so he's careful to double-check such claims now"

    similar: bamboozle, beguile, bluff, buffalo, catch, con, cozen, deceive, delude, dupe, fake out, fool, gaff, gammon, gull, have, have on (chiefly British), hoax, hoodwink, hornswoggle, humbug, juggle, misguide, misinform, mislead, snooker, snow, spoof, string along, suck in, sucker, take in, trick, do a number on, lead one down the garden path, pull one's leg, pull the wool over one's eyes
    related: kid, put on, tease, bleed, cheat, chisel, defraud, diddle, euchre, fleece, flimflam, hustle, mulct, rook, shortchange, skin, squeeze, stick, sting, swindle
    opposite: undeceive
    near: debunk, expose, reveal, show up, uncloak, uncover, unmask, disclose, divulge, tell, unveil, disabuse, disenchant, disillusion

  6. to make complete use of

    "heedlessly burning the country's resources without any concern for future generations"

    similar: absorb, consume, deplete, devour, drain, draw down, exhaust, expend, play out, spend, use up, run out of
    related: abate, decrease, de-escalate, diminish, downsize, dwindle, lessen, lower, reduce, eat, use, bankrupt, clean (out), impoverish, cripple, debilitate, disable, enfeeble, sap, undermine, weaken, dry up, empty, blow, dissipate, fritter (away), guzzle, lavish, misspend, run through, squander, throw away, waste
    opposite: renew, replace
    near: augment, enlarge, increase, bolster, enforce, fortify, reinforce, strengthen, rebuild, repair, restore, revive, conserve, preserve, save

Burn (noun) — Senses, Synonyms & Antonyms

  1. a natural body of running water smaller than a river

    "the walkers forded the shallow burn and then came upon a field of gorse"

    similar: beck (British), bourn, brook, brooklet, creek, gill (British), rill, rivulet, run (chiefly Midland), runlet, runnel, streamlet
    related: arroyo, billabong (Australian), fresh, freshet, runoff, bayou, coulee, slough, stream, wash, canal, channel, cut, cutoff, gut, kill, millrace, millstream, race, watercourse, waterway, affluent, branch, confluent, distributary, influent, tributary

Related Entry: Burn (up) (verb)

Burn (up) is a different word from Burn. The synonyms below are for burn (up), not for burn.

  1. to disturb the peace of mind of (someone) especially by repeated disagreeable acts

    "seeing people violate smoking bans really burns me up"

    similar: aggravate, annoy, bother, bug, chafe, eat, exasperate, frost, gall, get, grate, gripe, hack (off), irk, irritate, itch, nark (British), nettle, peeve, persecute, pique, put out, rasp, rile, ruffle, spite, vex, get one's goat, get on one's nerves, get to, rub the wrong way, set one's teeth on edge, stick in one's craw, wear on
    related: hassle, heckle, nag, inflame, provoke, rouse, badger, bait, bullyrag, devil, hagride, harass, harry, pester, plague, tease, anger, antagonize, enrage, incense, infuriate, madden, rankle, roil, agitate, discomfort, discompose, disquiet, distress, exercise, freak (out), fret, perturb, undo, unhinge, unsettle, upset, worry, affront, insult, miff, offend, outrage
    near: appease, conciliate, mollify, oblige, pacify, placate, propitiate, delight, gladden, gratify, please, satisfy, assure, cheer, comfort, console, content, quiet, reassure, solace, soothe

Related Entry: Burn out (verb)

Burn out is a different word from Burn. The synonyms below are for burn out, not for burn.

  1. to use up all the physical energy of

    "working 12-hour days at that job just burned me out"

    similar: break, bust, do in, do up, drain, exhaust, fag, fatigue, frazzle, harass, kill, knock out, outwear, tire, tucker (out), wash out, wear, wear out, weary, wear to a frazzle
    related: debilitate, enervate, enfeeble, sap, waste, weaken
    near: activate, energize, invigorate, rejuvenate, strengthen, vitalize, relax, rest, unwind

Related Entry: Burn one's ears (phrase)

Burn one's ears is a different word from Burn. The synonyms below are for burn one's ears, not for burn.

  1. to criticize (someone) so as to correct a fault

    "She burned his ears for not wearing a seatbelt."

    similar: admonish, chide, rebuke, reprimand, reproach, reprove, tick off, get after, get on
    related: berate, castigate, chew out, dress down, flay, harangue, jaw, keelhaul, lambaste, lecture, rail (at or against), rate, scold, score, upbraid, abuse, assail, attack, bad-mouth, blame, blast, censure, condemn, criticize, crucify, denounce, dis (slang), excoriate, fault, knock, lash, pan, reprehend, slam, belittle, deprecate, disparage, minimize, mock, put down, deride, ridicule, scoff, scorn
    near: approve, endorse, OK, sanction, applaud, extol, hail, laud, praise, salute, tout

Related Entry: Slash-and-burn (adjective)

Slash-and-burn is a different word from Burn. The synonyms below are for slash-and-burn, not for burn.

  1. having or showing a lack of sympathy or tender feelings

    "under his slash-and-burn management ethic, even longtime employees were summarily downsized for the sake of corporate competitiveness"

    similar: affectless, callous, case-hardened, cold-blooded, compassionless, desensitized, hard, hard-boiled, hard-hearted, heartless, indurate, inhuman, inhumane, insensate, insensitive, ironhearted, merciless, obdurate, pachydermatous, pitiless, remorseless, ruthless, soulless, stony, stonyhearted, take-no-prisoners, thick-skinned, uncharitable, unfeeling, unmerciful, unsparing, unsympathetic
    related: boorish, heedless, inconsiderate, thoughtless, uncaring, unfriendly, unloving, unthinking, grim, hard-bitten, harsh, heavy-handed, ironfisted, ironhanded, jackbooted, knock-down, drag-out, oppressive, rough, rough-and-tumble, severe, sledgehammer, stern, tough, ungentle, abusive, acrimonious, disagreeable, hateful, ill-natured, ill-tempered, malevolent, malicious, mean, rancorous, spiteful, surly, virulent, barbarous, bestial, brutal, brutish, cruel, evil-minded, savage, vicious, austere, cold, frosty
    opposite: charitable, compassionate, humane, kindhearted, kindly, merciful, sensitive, softhearted, sympathetic, tender, tenderhearted, warm, warmhearted
    near: benevolent, benignant, gentle, kind, clement, indulgent, lenient, mild, cordial, friendly, good-natured, good-tempered, gracious, tolerant, understanding, affectionate, fond, loving

Related Entry: Slow burn (phrase)

Slow burn is a different word from Burn. The synonyms below are for slow burn, not for burn.

  1. an intense emotional state of displeasure with someone or something

    "The toddler moved from a slow burn to an all-out rage in a matter of seconds."

    similar: anger, angriness, birse (chiefly Scottish), choler, furor, fury, indignation, irateness, ire, lividity, lividness, mad, madness, mood (archaic), outrage, rage, spleen, wrath, wrathfulness
    related: aggravation, annoyance, exasperation, irritation, vexation, acrimoniousness, acrimony, animosity, antagonism, antipathy, bile, biliousness, bitterness, contempt, embitterment, empoisonment, enmity, grudge, hostility, rancor, envy, jaundice, jealousy, pique, resentment, malevolence, malice, spite, vengefulness, venom, vindictiveness, virulence, vitriol, belligerence, contentiousness, contrariness, crankiness, disputatiousness, hot-headedness, irascibility, irascibleness, irritability, orneriness, pugnaciousness, pugnacity, quarrelsomeness, querulousness, blowup, flare, flare-up, outburst, chafe, dander, dudgeon, huff, pet, rise, ruffle, temper, air rage, road rage, delirium, heat, passion, warmth
    opposite: delight, pleasure
    near: calmness, forbearance, patience

Related Entry: Burnable (adjective)

Burnable is a different word from Burn. The synonyms below are for burnable, not for burn.

  1. capable of catching or being set on fire

    "don't put something so burnable as a towel next to the stove"

    similar: combustible, combustive, fiery, flammable, ignitable, inflammable, touchy
    related: explosive, incendiary
    opposite: fireproof, incombustible, nonburnable, noncombustible, nonflammable, noninflammable, unburnable
    near: nonexplosive

Synonyms, Thesaurus & Another Word for Burn

The most common words with a similar meaning to Burn:

British: beck, gill
Chiefly British: have on
Chiefly Midland: run
blaze, combust, flame, glow, enkindle, fire, ignite, inflame, kindle, light, torch, boil, foam, fume, rage, rankle, seethe, sizzle, steam, storm, beat, flare, glare, bamboozle, beguile, bluff, buffalo, catch, con, cozen, deceive, delude, dupe, fake out, fool, gaff, gammon, gull, have, hoax

Antonyms & Opposite Words for Burn

Words with the opposite meaning of Burn:

douse, extinguish, put out, quench, snuff (out), undeceive, renew, replace

Related Words for Burn

deflagrate, flare (up), light (up), flicker, gutter, waver, bake, broil, char, cook, melt, roast, scorch, swelter, smolder, spark, sputter, beam, brighten, radiate, beat (down), flash, gleam, glimmer, glint, glisten, glitter, scintillate, shimmer, shine

Near Antonyms of Burn

choke, smother, suffocate, stamp (out), blacken, darken, dim, dull, obscure, debunk, expose, reveal, show up, uncloak, uncover, unmask, disclose, divulge, tell, unveil, disabuse, disenchant, disillusion, augment, enlarge, increase, bolster, enforce, fortify, reinforce

Word Forms of Burn

Inflections: burned, burnt, burning, burns

Derived words: burnable (adjective)

Origin & Etymology of Burn

Middle English birnen, from Old English byrnan, intransitive verb, bærnan, transitive verb; akin to Old High German brinnan to burn

First known use: before 12th centuryi

Vocabulary Lists & Topics for Burn

Words & Phrases Containing Burn

burn-in, burn in, burn off, burn one's bridges, burn one's ears, burn out, burn the candle at both ends

Frequently Asked Questions about Burn

What does "Burn" mean?

"Burn" means to consume fuel and give off heat, light, and gases. As an a verb and a noun, it is defined as: to consume fuel and give off heat, light, and gases. It has 7 distinct senses.

What is another word for "Burn"?

Other words for "Burn" include blaze, combust, flame, glow, enkindle, fire, ignite and inflame. The best synonym depends on which meaning of "Burn" you intend.

What are different ways to say "Burn"?

There are 234 words and phrases with a similar meaning to "Burn". Common alternatives include blaze, combust, flame, glow, enkindle, fire, ignite, inflame, kindle and light.

What is the opposite of "Burn"?

Antonyms of "Burn" include douse, extinguish, put out, quench, snuff (out), undeceive, renew and replace. Near antonyms include choke, smother, suffocate and stamp (out).

How do you use "Burn" in a sentence?

Examples of "Burn" in a sentence: "all evening long we just sat there, contentedly watching the Yule log burn"; "it is not a good idea to try to burn old papers in the sink"; "he came home burning with anger because of a reprimand at work".

Is "Burn" a noun, verb, or adjective?

"Burn" can be used as a verb and a noun, depending on the context.

Is "Burn" useful for IELTS, TOEFL, and other English exams?

As an A2-level word, "Burn" is typical of Cambridge A2 Key (KET), PTE Academic 30–42, TOEIC Listening & Reading 225+.

How do you pronounce "Burn"?

"Burn" is pronounced /ˈbərn/.