ash

verb

Definition of ashnext
as in to kiln

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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 ash The blaze burned for almost a week, reducing millions of books to ash. — ABC News, 21 Sep. 2026 Then the blast hits, burning Sarah alive (actually a full-sized puppet) and reducing those children to ash. — ArsTechnica, 28 Aug. 2026 In Figments of Freedom, written, directed by and starring Webber, a Marine goes AWOL, burns his life to ash, and vanishes into America’s fractured heart. — Matt Grobar, Deadline, 19 Aug. 2026 Sixty-four of its cities had been reduced to rubble and ash by incendiary bombs, as a submarine blockade strangled its economy, cutting off food, fuel, and raw materials. — James M. Scott, Time, 10 Aug. 2026 Usually used to ward off frost and pests, these permeable materials offer a budget-friendly physical barrier against dust and ash too. — Better Homes & Gardens, 2 Aug. 2026 Through it all, their bullpen was consistent … in the way that an uncontained wildfire consistently turns acreage to ash. — Andrew Baggarly, New York Times, 15 July 2026 Now, the cabin where those memories were made has been reduced to ash. — Alaa Elassar, CNN Money, 27 June 2026 The fires in West Miami-Dade that have sent smoke, soot and ash into nearby communities, prompting over 200 people to leave their homes, is more than half contained as of Thursday, according to the Florida Forest Service. — Milena Malaver, Miami Herald, 18 June 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ash
  1. incinerate
  2. light
  3. cremate
  4. ignite
  5. kindle
  6. torch
  7. fire
  8. burn
Verb
  • The Food and Drug Administration recommends disposing of drugs by dropping them off at a take-back location or by mailing them using a prepaid envelope that is delivered to a facility where the drugs are incinerated.
    — Sunny Linnebur, The Conversation, 18 Sep. 2026
  • And this particular person, his name is Tom Swift, just happened to be in an elevator, wrong place, wrong time when the plane hit and the jet fuel from the plane went right down the elevator shaft and incinerated it.
    — Dana Taylor, USA Today, 9 Sep. 2026
Definition of incinerate
Verb
  • When their demands were met and extra staff sent to the school, the strike ended, but by then the match had been lit.
    — Melissa Bell, CNN Money, 6 Oct. 2026
  • Researchers learned fumes accumulated in restaurants because pilot lights (small flames inside gas stoves that stay continuously lit) continued to burn gas after kitchens closed and ventilation fans were off.
    — Tony Briscoe, Los Angeles Times, 6 Oct. 2026
Definition of light
Verb
  • Medical examiners typically cremate remains after a certain period of time if they are not claimed, which prevents family members from making an identification at a later time, Hess said.
    — Emma Tucker, CNN Money, 24 Aug. 2026
  • The village’s daily rhythms are ordered by the passing trains—until a train arrives from Pakistan loaded with the corpses of Sikh refugees, and the community is made to cremate the dead.
    — Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, 29 July 2026
Definition of cremate
Verb
  • Thousands of spectators lined the Chicago River to watch floating mock-ups of Victorian houses become engulfed by flames — a la the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 — but the buildings failed to ignite.
    — Kori Rumore, Chicago Tribune, 4 Oct. 2026
  • The discovery is the latest instance of CDE leadership telling employees bedbugs are not in the building, only for more to be discovered at a later date and igniting doubt among CDE’s workforce on whether treatment is effective.
    — Corey Schmidt, Sacbee.com, 3 Oct. 2026
Definition of ignite
Verb
  • This complicates things for Teagan, who has begun to kindle something with Cam.
    — Dessi Gomez, Deadline, 10 Sep. 2026
  • Now that fall is on the horizon, hope has been kindled for abundant rainfall.
    — Robert Klose, Christian Science Monitor, 4 Sep. 2026
Definition of kindle
Verb
  • At least one car was torched in ​Strasbourg in ⁠the east and riot police clashed with youths in Toulouse in the southwest.
    — Reuters, NBC news, 2 Oct. 2026
  • In New England, the first act was to steal our corn and acorns and beans in 1620 and to torch our villages with men, women, and children inside and to sell the survivors into slavery.
    — J. B. MacKinnon, Harpers Magazine, 29 Sep. 2026
Definition of torch
Verb
  • Garfield plays Sam as a charming villain, capable of talking himself back into the leadership position even after he has been fired by the board for shady dealings.
    — David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 6 Oct. 2026
  • The movie charts the evolution of OpenAI and dramatizes the tumultuous time when Altman was controversially fired and then rehired by the AI giant.
    — Rebecca Rubin, Variety, 6 Oct. 2026
Definition of fire
Verb
  • Oura might not be under the same pressure to access capital as a cash-burning startup.
    — Morgan Chittum, Fortune, 6 Oct. 2026
  • The scene is a sensory one, with layered cowhide rugs, leather armchairs, a wood-burning fire, and twinkling chandeliers that were original to the Pulitzers’ home.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 6 Oct. 2026
Definition of burn

Browse Nearby Words

as good as
ash
ashamed
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Cite this Entry

“Ash.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ash. Accessed 9 Oct. 2026.

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Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about ash

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