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

Bedrooms aside, each residence has its own features—a billiards room in Norwood, an infinity pool in Dunkeld, the superb garden suites in Castlereagh, the roaring fires in Summerville, and the rose terraces at Tientsin. — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 6 Oct. 2026

The proposal includes a 5% bonus for filming in a disaster area, which would apply to the entirety of Los Angeles County until January 2030, due to last year’s fires. — Gene Maddaus, Variety, 6 Oct. 2026

Video taken in cities including Paris, Lyon and Strasbourg showed demonstrators facing off with police, lighting fires and dodging tear gas. — Greg Norman-Diamond, FOXNews.com, 6 Oct. 2026

The utility this weekend also de-energized lines around a brush fire that broke out Saturday, prompting evacuation orders several miles south of Lahaina town, the site of the 2023 deadly fires. — Arkansas Online, 29 Sep. 2026

But even that compression feels inadequate to the demands of the mind that would rather eliminate all the fires of today. — Bill Koch, Forbes.com, 29 Sep. 2026

The technology is now being used for wildfires, structure fires, hazardous-material incidents, traffic enforcement, searches for missing people and hostage situations, among other applications. — Charlie Lapastora, CBS News, 29 Sep. 2026

Boots, knitwear, leather jackets, fires going at home, long Sunday lunches. — Max Berlinger, Vogue, 22 Sep. 2026

The Army is developing PrSM as a next-generation long-range precision fires system. — Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 22 Sep. 2026

Verb

Andrew Garfield stars as Altman, with Anora‘s Yura Borisov playing Ilya Sutskever, the chief scientific officer and co-founder of OpenAI who fires Altman. — Abid Rahman, HollywoodReporter, 6 Oct. 2026

Dennis Dooley, who was standing on the roadbed below, fires one shot, striking Bottom. — Emma Seiwell, New York Daily News, 3 Oct. 2026

Chernyshov gets the puck back and fires a backdoor pass through a defender’s legs to create a tap-in goal. — Harman Dayal, New York Times, 2 Oct. 2026

The officer, by then very close to the open window on the driver’s side, fires two more times, fatally shooting Renee Good, according to an analysis of the videos by the Associated Press and others. — Tim Sullivan, Los Angeles Times, 1 Oct. 2026

Humiliated and filled with grief, Monica shows up at Jax’s law firm and fires her gun. — Yamillah Hurtado, PEOPLE, 22 Sep. 2026

In the show’s second season, Lumon struggles to contain the fallout from these discoveries and fires the head of the severed floor, Harmony Cobel (Patricia Arquette), replacing her with her former deputy, Seth Milchick (Tillman). — Jordana Rosenfeld, Encyclopedia Britannica, 21 Sep. 2026

In production, a specific number fires the protocol long before any mortality. — Nilton Bernini, Forbes.com, 18 Sep. 2026

In response to the growing array of security threats, Romania and Poland acquired the MEROPS system, which fires short counter-drones to take down incoming stray drones. — ABC News, 17 Sep. 2026