Ignite

How to spell ignite

6 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce ignite

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does ignite mean?

1. verbTo set something on fire, or to cause a substance to start burning.
2. verbTo stir up or provoke a strong reaction, emotion, or conflict.

Ignite in a sentence

• A single spark can ignite the dry brush along the trail.

• The proposed tax change helped ignite a fierce public debate.

• The engineers used a controlled flame to ignite the fuel mixture.

• A few careless remarks were enough to ignite tension in the office.

Where does ignite come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word comes from the Latin verb ignire, meaning 'to set on fire', which was built directly on the noun ignis, the ordinary Latin word for 'fire'. The participle form ignitus described something that had been kindled or made to burn. English took the word up in the early 1600s, at first in technical and alchemical writing about heating substances until they glowed, before it broadened into the general sense of starting a fire or sparking something into action. The same Latin ignis lies behind the related word 'igneous', used for rocks formed from cooled molten material, which is a useful reminder that the spelling keeps the silent-feeling 'gn' cluster from the Latin root rather than the simpler sound it makes. Because the 'g' is fully pronounced here, ignite is rarely misspelled, but its quieter cousin 'igneous' trips people up more often.

How the word is built

• ign- (from Latin ignis: fire)
• -ite (verb-forming suffix)