Actions
Synonyms for fire
Synonyms for fire: firing, light and attack. Every one of them is a hand audited pair from the Synonym Stack word bank, shown below in the sense it fits, in a real sentence, and beside the words that only look close.
The 3 synonyms for fire
Interchangeable with fire, one per sense
Audited under fire's own entry, so the meaning quoted is the one fire carries in that sense.
- firingnoun, in the sense "the act of firing weapons or artillery at an enemy"
- lightverb, in the sense "start or maintain a fire in"
Recorded from the other side of the pair
These entries were written under the other word and name fire as the true synonym, so the sense quoted is theirs.
- attackattack is a noun in the sense "intense adverse criticism"
two of these come from fire's own entries in the bank, and one was audited from the other word's side of the pair. Both directions were read by a human, and only the sense quoted differs.
the act of firing weapons or artillery at an enemy
They retreated in the face of withering enemy fire.
fire in 2 more sentences, same sense
- The patrol crawled through the ditch to escape the steady fire pouring from the ridge.
- He ordered his men to hold their fire until the trucks came within range.
How it behaves: In this sense fire usually appears as the object of verbs like open, hold, return, or draw, and often follows the preposition under, in a formal or military register.
The true synonym
firing
Same sentence, swapped: They retreated in the face of withering enemy firing.
Close but different
These three are the other tiles the game puts on screen for this sense, and the note above says why the closest of them fails. None is a synonym for fire in the sentence quoted.
- attack
- flame
- charge
The opposite, in this sense
ceasefire reverses fire as it is used in the sentence above. A different sense of fire takes different opposites, which is why these sit inside the sense and not at the top of the page.
- ceasefire
start or maintain a fire in
Fire the furnace.
fire in 2 more sentences, same sense
- You should fire the stove now so the kitchen warms before the guests arrive.
- The letter instructed the caretaker to fire the boiler each night before locking up.
How it behaves: In this sense fire usually takes a direct object naming a heating apparatus, such as a furnace, kiln, or boiler, and often appears in instructional or technical writing.
The true synonym
light
Same sentence, swapped: Light the furnace.
Close but different
The game offers these three alongside the answer. They are close enough to tempt and wrong enough to be wrong, which is the whole design.
- raise
- fuel
- introduce
Opposites, in this sense
extinguish and douse reverse fire as it is used in the sentence above. A different sense of fire takes different opposites, which is why these sit inside the sense and not at the top of the page.
- extinguish
- douse
Where fire turns up in the game
fire is the word under test in two puzzles, spread across Tier 1, Foothills. It also sits on the board as one of the three wrong tiles in six other puzzles, where the answer is a different word entirely.
4 of the 6 puzzles where fire is the trap
- attacknoun, Tier 1, Foothills. The answer there is approach, in the sense "ideas or actions intended to deal with a problem or situation", and fire is on the board beside it.
- burnverb, Tier 1, Foothills. The answer there is cut, in the sense "create by duplicating data", with fire sitting one tile away.
- causeverb, Tier 1, Foothills. The answer there is make, in the sense "give rise to", so fire is there to be ruled out.
- breakverb, Tier 2, Treeline. The answer there is damp, in the sense "lessen in force or effect", so fire is there to be ruled out.
Play fire
The bank on this page is the bank the game plays from, so fire reaches you as a board rather than a definition: the sentence first, four tiles, and the meaning after you choose.
Free with ads on iPhone. Synonym Stack Plus removes them: $2.99 a week, $5.99 a month or $49.99 a year, with a 7 day free trial on the monthly and annual plans.
Closest first: other actions words at Foothills, then the same tier across the rest of the library.
Why the near miss missed, in the game as well as here
Synonym Stack plays from this exact bank. fire carries 1 written reason line, and the game shows them the moment a round ends, whichever tile you tapped.