inflame

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in·flame / inˈflām/ • v. [tr.] 1. provoke or intensify (strong feelings, esp. anger) in someone: high fines further inflamed public feelings. ∎  provoke (someone) to strong feelings: her sister was inflamed with jealousy. ∎  make (a situation) worse.2. (usu. be inflamed) cause inflammation in (a part of the body): the finger joints were inflamed with rheumatoid arthritis.3. poetic/lit. light up with or as if with flames: the torches inflame the night to the eastward.DERIVATIVES: in·flam·er n.