Idiom
add fuel to the fire
Meaning
To worsen a conflict between people; to inflame an already tense situation.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Examples
“Do not argue with him, you will only add fuel to the fire.”
“The manager knew that criticizing the team during the meeting would only add fuel to the fire, so she stayed quiet.”
“By publicly mocking his rival's recent failure, the politician inadvertently added fuel to the fire and ensured the debate would become even more aggressive.”
Examples
simple
“Do not argue with him, you will only add fuel to the fire.”
contextual
“The manager knew that criticizing the team during the meeting would only add fuel to the fire, so she stayed quiet.”
complex
“By publicly mocking his rival's recent failure, the politician inadvertently added fuel to the fire and ensured the debate would become even more aggressive.”
Key words
Related idioms
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