SYNONYMS AND RELATED EXPRESSIONS
arson
noun
The deliberate, unlawful burning of property.
Local English device voice, when available. This is not a recorded dictionary pronunciation.
Deliberate unlawful burning
Closest synonyms
Related words and expressions
These extend or explain the idea and may require a different sentence structure.
Usage distinction
Return to topFire-setting alone is broader and may be lawful; incendiarism is a formal alternative.
CHECK THE MEANING IN CONTEXT
See arson in use
The detective in the novel investigates a warehouse fire suspected to be arson.
Arson, rather than an accidental fire, is the established offense in a fictional case involving the unlawful burning of an empty boathouse.
Compare an alternative with the original word in each passage. Shared meanings do not make every pair interchangeable.
Synonym reference scope and sources
The groups distinguish the senses selected for this study entry. Closest synonyms and broader related expressions have separate labels. The listed sources support lexical selection; not every phrase is a direct quotation from a source.
How the synonym reference was prepared / WordNet 3.0 license