Fiery — Meaning, Definition & Synonyms

Fiery (adjective) — Senses, Synonyms & Antonyms

1. being on fire

   "the fiery Yule log made a splendid backdrop for our holiday party"

   similar: ablaze, afire, aflame, alight (chiefly British), blazing, burning, combusting, conflagrant, flaming, ignited, inflamed, kindled, lit
   related: aglow, flaring, flickering, glowing, live, smoldering, broiling, hot, piping hot, red-hot, roasting, scalding, scorching, searing, sizzling, burned, charred, incinerated, scorched, seared, singed
   near: choked, damped, dead, doused, extinguished, quenched, smothered, snuffed (out), stamped (out), suffocated

2. having a notably high temperature

   "the long, dangerous trek across the fiery desert"

   similar: ardent, boiling, broiling, burning, fervent, fervid, hot, piping hot, red, red-hot, roasting, scalding, scorching, searing, sultry, superheated, sweltering, torrid, ultrahot, white-hot
   related: blazing, glowing, igneous, molten, seething, sizzling, heated, overheated, reheated, warmed, snug, toasty, warm, warmish, feverish, flushed, inflamed, canicular, muggy, steamy, summerlike, summery, tropical
   opposite: algid, arctic, bitter, bone-chilling, cold, freezing, frigid, frozen, glacial, ice-cold, iced, icy
   near: chill, chilly, coldish, cool, coolish, nippy, snappy, blizzardly, frosty, snowy, subfreezing, subzero, wintry, chilled, cooled, refrigerated, unheated, benumbed, numb, shivering

3. having or expressing great depth of feeling

   "the fiery preacher held the members of the revival meeting spellbound"

   similar: ardent, blazing, burning, charged, demonstrative, emotional, fervent, fervid, feverish, flaming, glowing, hot-blooded, impassioned, incandescent, intense, passional, passionate, perfervid, red-hot, religious, superheated, torrid, vehement, warm, warm-blooded, on fire
   related: gushing, gushy, maudlin, mawkish, mushy, saccharine, sappy, schmaltzy, sentimental, sloppy, sugary, histrionic, melodramatic, enthusiastic, gung ho, keen, zealous, enamored, infatuated, obsessed, uninhibited, unreserved, unrestrained, frenzied, orgiastic, overemotional, overexcited, overheated
   opposite: cold, cool, dispassionate, emotionless, impassive, unemotional
   near: detached, dry, impersonal, objective, reserved, undemonstrative

4. marked by a lively display of strong feeling

   "the controversial editorial sparked a page's worth of fiery letters to the editor"

   similar: gingery, high-spirited, mettlesome, peppery, spirited, spunky
   related: aggressive, ambitious, assertive, high-pressure, in-your-face, militant, pushy, animate, animated, bouncing, bouncy, brisk, energetic, feisty, frisky, jaunty, jazzy, kinetic, peppy, perky, pert, racy, scrappy, snappy, spanking, sparky, sprightly, springy, vital, vivacious, zippy, ardent, fervent, impassioned, passionate, emphatic, obtrusive
   opposite: halfhearted, leaden, spiritless
   near: bloodless, boring, dull, lifeless, dead, inanimate, lackadaisical, languid, languorous, limp, listless, inert, lethargic, sleepy, sluggish, tired, torpid, low-pressure, nonassertive, unaggressive, unambitious, unassertive, unenterprising

5. capable of catching or being set on fire

   "with a fiery vapor like that, the lighting of a single match could cause an explosion"

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

6. easily irritated or annoyed

   "since the governor was known for his fiery temper, naturally his aides always shielded him from bad news"

   similar: choleric, crabby, cranky, cross, crotchety, grouchy, grumpy, irascible, irritable, peevish, perverse, pettish, petulant, prickly, quick-tempered, raspy, ratty, short-tempered, snappish, snappy, snarky, snippety, snippy, stuffy, testy, waspish, out of humor, out of sorts
   related: bearish, bilious, cantankerous, cross-grained, curmudgeonly, disagreeable, dyspeptic, ill-humored, ill-natured, ill-tempered, off-color, ornery, querulous, snarly, surly, argumentative, bellicose, belligerent, combative, contentious, disputatious, fractious, fretful, pugnacious, quarrelsome, scrappy, truculent, huffy, pouty, sensitive, short, sulky, sullen, tetchy, thin-skinned, touchy, hot-blooded, passionate
   near: affable, companionable, cordial, extroverted, friendly, genial, gregarious, outgoing, sociable, agreeable, amiable, good-natured, good-tempered, sweet, well-disposed, carefree, easygoing, happy-go-lucky, relaxed, forbearing, long-suffering, obliging, patient, stoic, tolerant, uncomplaining, understanding