Synonyms of fires

fires 1 of 2

noun

plural of fire

1

as in infernos

a destructive burning

a number of suspicious fires in the neighborhood recently

Synonyms & Similar Words

• infernos
• wildfires
• conflagrations
• blazes
• bonfires
• holocausts
• campfires
• forest fires
• backfires
• brush fires
• arsons
• flare-ups

2

as in ordeals

a test of faith, patience, or strength

asked to be sent to the front lines, as he was eager to prove himself in the fire of battle

Synonyms & Similar Words

• ordeals
• gauntlets
• trials
• crucibles
• crosses
• baptisms of fire
• tragedies
• misfortunes
• baptisms
• mishaps
• initiations
• woes
• tribulations
• grievances
• troubles
• challenges
• misadventures
• mischances
• privations
• hardships
• griefs
• adversities
• vicissitudes
• acid tests
• asperities
• complications
• afflictions
• rigors
• inconveniences
• difficulties
• litmus tests
• nuisances
• discomforts
• annoyances

fires

2 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of fire

1

as in shoots

to cause (a projectile) to be driven forward with force

police officers firing rubber bullets

Synonyms & Similar Words

• shoots
• launches
• throws
• blasts
• discharges
• hurls
• looses
• projects
• squeezes off
• flings
• catapults
• casts
• tosses
• blazes (at)
• lobs
• slings
• heaves
• hurtles
• pelts
• snipes (at)
• pitches

2

as in blasts

to cause a weapon to release a missile with great force

soldiers fired at the enemy in panic-stricken disorder

Synonyms & Similar Words

• shoots
• blasts
• blazes
• discharges
• peppers
• snipes
• plinks
• potshots

3

as in stimulates

to give life, vigor, or spirit to

a school outing to the natural history museum fired his imagination, and he grew up to become an eminent paleontologist

Synonyms & Similar Words

• stimulates
• stirs
• arouses
• animates
• provokes
• sparks
• activates
• spikes
• triggers
• awakens
• energizes
• cheers
• drives
• inspires
• electrifies
• vivifies
• excites
• lifts
• enlivens
• invigorates
• quickens
• vitalizes
• zips (up)
• revives
• braces
• raises
• motives
• motivates
• awakes
• recreates
• rouses
• jump-starts
• rallies
• propels
• amps (up)
• livens (up)
• charges
• moves
• strengthens
• fillips
• peps (up)
• boosts
• jazzes (up)
• gingers (up)
• kindles
• resurrects
• juices up
• refreshes
• wakes (up)
• galvanizes
• incites
• inflames
• actuates
• impels
• renews
• sets off
• ferments
• foments
• buoys
• instigates
• enkindles
• rekindles
• regenerates
• turns on
• infuses
• heartens
• reactivates
• whips (up)
• reawakens
• emboldens
• steels
• recharges
• fortifies
• abets
• resuscitates
• reanimates
• reinvigorates
• revitalizes
• rejuvenates
• reenergizes
• refreshens
• restimulates
• reawakes

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• kills
• damps
• dampens
• wears
• drains
• deadens
• exhausts
• dulls
• burns out
• undermines
• weakens
• knocks out
• wears out
• saps
• harasses
• slows
• checks
• fatigues
• wearies
• washes out
• debilitates
• enfeebles
• curbs
• does in
• inhibits
• enervates
• suppresses
• restrains
• fags
• quenches
• stunts
• quells
• represses
• stills
• discourages
• kayoes
• demoralizes
• tuckers (out)
• daunts
• disheartens
• jades
• dispirits

4

as in sacks

to let go from office, service, or employment

fired the secretary for incompetence

Synonyms & Similar Words

• sacks
• dismisses
• removes
• retires
• releases
• discharges
• axes
• cans
• terminates
• bounces
• turns off
• pink-slips
• excesses
• shows (someone) the door
• musters out
• sends packing
• downsizes
• lays off
• cashiers
• boots (out)
• kicks out
• furloughs
• trims
• separates
• drums (out)
• unseats
• chucks (out)
• throws out

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• employs
• retains
• hires
• engages
• keeps
• signs (up or on)
• takes on
• contracts
• rehires
• recruits
• reemploys
• subcontracts

5

as in throws

to send through the air especially with a quick forward motion of the arm

fired a pass to the running back

Synonyms & Similar Words

• throws
• hurls
• tosses
• flings
• launches
• bowls
• casts
• slings
• guns
• catapults
• heaves
• darts
• lobs
• pegs
• hurtles
• pitches
• dashes
• lofts
• flips
• chucks
• rifles
• lets fly
• pelts
• shoots
• thrusts
• rolls
• precipitates
• ejects
• passes
• projects
• propels
• hooks
• impels
• bucks

6

as in burns

to set (something) on fire

lit some kindling before attempting to fire the logs

Synonyms & Similar Words

• burns
• ignites
• scorches
• lights
• torches
• kindles
• inflames
• enkindles
• bakes
• illumines
• illuminates
• immolates
• cooks
• ashes
• incinerates
• broils
• kilns
• chars
• sets off
• stokes
• deflagrates
• relights
• rekindles
• brightens
• sears
• lightens
• cremates
• reignites
• frizzles
• irradiates
• radiates
• banks
• scalds
• scathes

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• extinguishes
• quenches
• puts out
• chokes
• smothers
• stamps (out)
• suffocates
• douses
• snuffs (out)
• obscures
• dims
• darkens
• blackens
• dulls

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of fires

Noun

The video pans to an airstream on his Pacific Palisades property, which was destroyed by the devastating LA fires early last year. —Janelle Ash, FOXNews.com, 29 Apr. 2026

Every edit, regeneration, and follow-up question a worker fires into a frontier model is training data, aggregated across hundreds of millions of users and tens of billions of conversations. —Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 29 Apr. 2026

The fire department also did 199 building inspections, and the city has seen eight adult deaths from fires. —Maya Wilkins, Chicago Tribune, 29 Apr. 2026

Unfortunately, even that may not extinguish the twin fires. —Aj Willingham, AJC.com, 29 Apr. 2026

Earthquakes’ sudden, rapid shaking can cause fires, tsunamis, landslides or avalanches. —Ca Earthquake Bot, Sacbee.com, 29 Apr. 2026

An Amazon package arrived at my door a few days after the Eaton and Palisades fires ignited. —Abigail Stone, HollywoodReporter, 22 Apr. 2026

Previously, small fires had often escalated due to increasingly difficult-to-predict weather conditions. —Paige Bruton, semafor.com, 22 Apr. 2026

Firefighting equipment was being staged across the state so resources are closer to the fires, Florida Commissioner of Agriculture Wilton Simpson said. —Jeff Martin, Los Angeles Times, 22 Apr. 2026

Verb

Since the city adopted the video release policy more than a decade ago, experience has repeatedly demonstrated the fallacy of limiting inquiry to the precise moment when a police officer fires their gun. —Jamie Kalven, Chicago Tribune, 29 Apr. 2026

Garcia is opening his car door at that very moment, and fires nine shots at Denis with his 9 mm Glock pistol as Denis speeds toward and past him. —Brittany Wallman, Miami Herald, 29 Apr. 2026

The most common example of extreme indifference is a person who fires a gun into a crowd indiscriminately, creating a grave risk of death to others. —Shaun Boyd, CBS News, 23 Apr. 2026

Hezbollah, though weakened in its last war with Israel that ended in November 2024, still fires drones, rockets and artillery daily into northern Israel and on ground troops inside Lebanon. —Kareem Chehayeb, Los Angeles Times, 14 Apr. 2026

The teen keeps running, and then the officer fires. —ABC News, 13 Apr. 2026

Any Iranian who fires at us, or at peaceful vessels, will be BLOWN TO HELL! —Kathryn Palmer, USA Today, 12 Apr. 2026

This woman fires her immediately. —Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 9 Apr. 2026

After release, the spaceplane fires its rocket engine and climbs to the edge of space. —Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 8 Apr. 2026