as in provocative
tending to excite political disorder or insurrection the restless crowd was stirred up by the inflammatory rhetoric

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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 inflammatory Other members debated the risks of using what could now be considered inflammatory language. Joseph States, Chicago Tribune, 12 June 2025 Metabolic disease, in other words, is inflammatory disease. Smithsonian Magazine, 12 June 2025 That move is purposefully inflammatory and will only escalate tensions. Theo Burman, MSNBC Newsweek, 9 June 2025 The protest was one of several erupting across the city after President Donald Trump ordered National Guard troops into L.A. — a move that California officials called unconstitutional and inflammatory. Jessica Lynch, Billboard, 9 June 2025 See All Example Sentences for inflammatory
Recent Examples of Synonyms for inflammatory
Adjective
  • There are some sweet crushes, but nothing provocative at all.
    Lynnette Nicholas, Parents, 12 June 2025
  • Environmental and natural resource lawyer Rebecca Sokol argued in favor of such indirect, behavioral strategies, in a provocative 2020 paper, and agrees with Paz’s assessment.
    Sarah Scoles, JSTOR Daily, 11 June 2025
Adjective
  • One of the key claims involves a document titled 1776 Returns, which prosecutors cited as evidence of a seditious plot.
    Kaelan Deese, The Washington Examiner, 6 June 2025
  • The case is being prosecuted by Jeffrey Nestler, a veteran of the U.S. attorney’s office in D.C. who handled the seditious conspiracy trial of the Oath Keepers and other high-profile Jan. 6 cases.
    Ella Lee, The Hill, 22 May 2025
Adjective
  • Lurking in one of the aisles, a man quietly slipped an incendiary device, made from a cigarette, matches, and paper, into a section displaying foam rubber, with practiced ease.
    JP Mangalindan, Time, 4 June 2025
  • Soliman is accused of using makeshift incendiary devices, including a flamethrower and Molotov cocktails, in an attempt to burn pro-Israel demonstrators alive on Sunday.
    Peter D'Abrosca , Audrey Conklin, FOXNews.com, 3 June 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Inflammatory.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/inflammatory. Accessed 19 Jun. 2025.

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