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Added 9 October 2026

combust

/kəmˈbʌst/ verb

In Latin: combūrō Wiktionary

verb Definition from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about combust at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

Cause to burn or combust.
The sun burned off the fog
Start to burn or burst into flames.
Marsh gases ignited suddenly
Get very angry and fly into a rage.
The professor combusted when the student didn't know the answer to a very elementary question

Origin

From Middle English combust (“burnt”), from Middle French combust, from Latin combustus, the perfect passive participle of Latin combūrere (“to burn up, to burn away”, transitive), whence also English combure.

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

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