You searched for: “inflammability
inflammability (s) (noun), inflammabilities (pl)
1. The situation of being easily ignited and capable of burning rapidly: Because of the inflammability of the liquids stored in the garage, they were removed quickly before any fire could start.
2. Quick or easy arousal to a strong emotion; excitability: The inflammability in Jim's temperament was evident when he felt that he was accused of something he did not do or say at all!

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

The "in-" used in inflammability is an intensive prefix derived from the Latin preposition "in". This prefix 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 warnings.

This entry is located in the following units: -ability (page 5) flam- (page 2)