You searched for: “inflammable
flammable, inflammable, nonflammable
flammable (FLAM uh buhl) (adjective)
Pertaining to something which is capable of being set on fire and of burning quickly: Gasoline is a very flammable liquid.
inflammable (in FLAM uh buhl) (adjective)
Easily excited, aroused, or angered: "Roy had an inflammable temper when he felt he was being wronged" is a proper usage, but it should no longer be used with reference to something that will not burn.

The word inflammable actually means "able to burn"; while "nonflammable" means "unable or unlikely to burn".

The prefix "in-", used with inflammable is an intensifier not a "negative" as with such words as "inhospitable", "inhuman", "insensible", "indecent", "inadequate", etc. It has been a mistake believed by many people that inflammable meant "not flammable" and some serious injuries resulted over the years because of this misunderstanding.

As a consequence, many English-speaking countries passed laws that have required manufacturers of materials and substances that burn easily to use the word "flammable" in place of inflammable, which is considered less ambiguous or confusing.

So remember that inflammable comes from "inflame", which, in this case, means "to set on fire" and not from "in-", "not" + "flammable", "combustible".

nonflammable (nahn FLAM uh buhl) (adjective)
Descriptive of something that is not readily ignited and so it does not burn easily: It is much more realistic that people use nonflammable or "non-flammable" instead of inflammable when they mean that something cannot burn or is very difficult to burn.

In the confusion at the store, which was caused by a customer's inflammable temper, Joseph was unable to read the sign to see if the can of solvent was flammable or nonflammable.

inflammable (adjective), more inflammable, most inflammable
1. Something that is quickly and easily set on fire and burned; combustible: To keep themselves warm in the living room, Mr. Thompson used inflammable wood so that the family could enjoy the blazing flames in the hearth.
2. Easily aroused or excited, as to passion or anger; irascible: Her father had an inflammable disposition regarding the men she was dating.
This entry is located in the following units: -able (page 21) flam- (page 2) in-2 (page 1)
(Latin: in, into, within, inside, on, toward [il-, ir-, im-], in, into, etc.: involve, incur, invade; also, used intensively, as in the words inflame and inflammable, or without perceptible force.)
Word Entries at Get Words: “inflammable
inflammable (in FLAM uh buhl) (adjective), more inflammable, most inflammable
Characteristic of being easily ignited and capable of burning rapidly; flammable.

Historically, flammable and inflammable meant the same thing; however, the presence of the prefix in- has misled many people into assuming that inflammable means "not flammable" or "noncombustible".

The prefix in inflammable is not, however, the Latin negative prefix in-, which is related to the English un- and appears in such words as "indecent" and "inglorious".

Instead, this in- is an intensive prefix derived from the Latin preposition in and it also appears in the word enflame, but many people are not aware of this derivation, and for clarity's sake it is advisable to use only "flammable" to give any kind of warnings about burning or catching on fire.

Burn, flammable; or not burn, inflammable.
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This entry is located in the following unit: Misleading Meanings of English Words (page 1)