wildfire

noun

Definition of wildfirenext
as in blaze
a fire in a wild area (such as a forest) that is not controlled and that can burn a large area very quickly The recent wildfires were made worse by the strong winds.

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of wildfire When a wildfire threatens a community, most people don’t think to ask whether the firefighters coming to help slept enough the night before, recovered from the previous day’s shift or have enough energy left for another day on the fire line. — Julian L. Gallegos, The Conversation, 27 Aug. 2026 Although evacuation orders in Jack County have been lifted, some roads in the area remain closed because of the wildfire. — Anthony Thompson, USA Today, 27 Aug. 2026 Fire crews with water-dropping aircraft attacked a small wildfire that prompted new evacuations Thursday along California's remote Big Sur coast, where a much larger blaze has been burning for nearly three weeks. — ABC News, 27 Aug. 2026 Fire crews responded quickly to a fast-moving wildfire in Kuna on Wednesday. — Sally Krutzig, Idaho Statesman, 27 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for wildfire
Recent Examples of Synonyms for wildfire
  1. blaze
  2. inferno
  3. forest fire
  4. campfire
  5. bonfire
Noun
  • His push comes as another major utility, Southern California Edison, faces claims from the state’s second-most destructive blaze, a 2025 fire that killed 19 people outside of Los Angeles.
    — Sophie Austin, Fortune, 25 Aug. 2026
  • And Europe — the world’s fastest-warming continent — has been beset by extreme weather that has caused widespread droughts and blazes, marking some of the region’s gravest natural disasters on record.
    — Jeronimo Gonzalez, semafor.com, 25 Aug. 2026
Definition of blaze
Noun
  • Hiding underneath a desk in a classroom was an 8-foot python, which fire officials say started the inferno.
    — Minyvonne Burke, NBC news, 18 Aug. 2026
  • The inferno that follows, as the betrayer’s dragon sets fire to both armies and then Tumbleton itself, will be rendered with both practical flames and CGI.
    — Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 10 Aug. 2026
Definition of inferno
Noun
  • Similarly, a major firefighting operation was underway in southwest Germany near the village of Traisen, where the heat sparked a forest fire in an area that also contained unexploded ordnance.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 28 June 2026
  • This Anglican example near Beaufort, South Carolina, was built in the 1740s, but was largely destroyed by a forest fire in 1886.
    — Tara Massouleh McCay, Southern Living, 17 June 2026
Definition of forest fire
Noun
  • The firefighters made camp at two in the morning, reclining on the pillowy grass, and ate dinner around a flickering campfire.
    — M. R. O’Connor, New Yorker, 31 Aug. 2026
  • Fall menu items are currently available and include a campfire mocha, candied pecan cold brew, caramel apple matcha, boo-berry latte, cherry garcia and salted maple latte.
    — Marina Johnson, Louisville Courier Journal, 28 Aug. 2026
Definition of campfire
Noun
  • Video showed locals draped in Spanish flags, shouting anti-migrant slogans, and singing Spanish songs, torching the camp and throwing migrants’ belongings in the Mediterranean or into bonfires.
    — Brady Knox, The Washington Examiner, 28 Aug. 2026
  • While establishing a perimeter for the K-9, a trooper approached a residence on Trask Road and saw two men sitting by a bonfire in the front yard.
    — Justin Muszynski, Hartford Courant, 25 Aug. 2026
Definition of bonfire

Phrases Containing wildfire

Browse Nearby Words

wilderness
wildfire
wildfires
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Cite this Entry

“Wildfire.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/wildfire. Accessed 1 Sep. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on wildfire

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about wildfire

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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