English Reference
Adjective

ablaze

adj.
B2 Upper Intermediate US /əˈbɫeɪz/ UK /ɐblˈeɪz/ ablaze

adj.on fire or burning very brightly. You use this to describe a place that is full of light or heat because of a fire.

adj.on fire or burning brightly; full of light or heat. Often used figuratively to describe a place or situation that is very active or intense.


SIMPLE

The forest was ablaze with orange light.

CONTEXTUAL

The city was ablaze with fireworks as the crowd celebrated the national holiday.

COMPLEX

The ancient manuscript was so delicate that even a small spark could have set it ablaze, leading to the total loss of the historical records.

Photograph: Enric Fontcuberta/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock Nearly a century ago, Virginia Woolf had high society ablaze with Orlando , her time- and gender-bending romantic experiment.

The Guardian· 26 Aug 2026

These fires can be particularly scary if you live in the nearby areas or if you find yourself travelling through an area that has been ablaze or covered in dark smoke.

The Local· 9 Jul 2026

From a- (“on, in”) + blaze (“flame”).

Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

This entry
Level B2 · Upper Intermediate
Frequency Occasional
Updated