variants
or smoulder
smoldered or smouldered; smoldering or smouldering
ˈsmōl-d(ə-)riŋ 
1
a
: to burn sluggishly, without flame, and often with much smoke
b
: to be consumed by smoldering
—often used with out
2
: to exist in a state of suppressed activity
hostilities smoldered for years
3
: to show suppressed anger, hate, or jealousy
eyes smoldering with hate
Examples of smolder in a Sentence
The remains of the campfire smoldered.
Her eyes smoldered with anger.
Anger smoldered in my heart.
Recent Examples on the Web
This action sends forth billowing clouds of gray smoke—pollen, actually—so that the yews do appear, genuinely, to be smoldering.
—
Caity Weaver, The Atlantic, 5 June 2025
See video of Mount Etna smoldering day after eruption
Drone footage captured the day after shows the volcano continuing to smolder as gas escapes into the atmosphere.
—Mary Walrath-Holdridge, USA Today, 3 June 2025
An officer patrolling the area of Lemon Park, 701 S. Lemon St., just after 12:30 a.m. on April 20, spotted Naranjo-Cortez appearing to hold a box that was smoldering, police said.
—Nathaniel Percy, Oc Register, 30 May 2025
Dramatic video showed firefighters hosing down the smoldering wreck from atop a building on Fairview’s Industrial Avenue, where the crash took place at around 6:10 a.m., according to Fairview Deputy Police Chief John Pierotti.
—Theresa Braine, New York Daily News, 26 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for smolder
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Caity Weaver, The Atlantic, 5 June 2025
See video of Mount Etna smoldering day after eruption
Drone footage captured the day after shows the volcano continuing to smolder as gas escapes into the atmosphere.
—Mary Walrath-Holdridge, USA Today, 3 June 2025
An officer patrolling the area of Lemon Park, 701 S. Lemon St., just after 12:30 a.m. on April 20, spotted Naranjo-Cortez appearing to hold a box that was smoldering, police said.
—Nathaniel Percy, Oc Register, 30 May 2025
Dramatic video showed firefighters hosing down the smoldering wreck from atop a building on Fairview’s Industrial Avenue, where the crash took place at around 6:10 a.m., according to Fairview Deputy Police Chief John Pierotti.
—Theresa Braine, New York Daily News, 26 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for smolder
Cite this Entry
“Smolder.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/smolder. Accessed 9 Jun. 2025.
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