incendiarism

English

Etymology

From incendiary + -ism.

Pronunciation

  • (UK) IPA(key): /ɪnˈsɛndɪəɹɪzm/

Noun

incendiarism (countable and uncountable, plural incendiarisms)

  1. The act or practice of burning property; arson.
    • 1933, Public Management, volume 15, page 263:
      Incendiarism is a major fire problem in many cities; Mr. Fairtrace here recommends needed changes in insurance and fire protection methods.
    • 1976 September, Saul Bellow, Humboldt’s Gift, New York, N.Y.: Avon Books, →ISBN, page 110:
      In the surrounding black slums incendiarism shoots up in the summer, an index, soem say, of psychopathology. Although the love of flames it's also religious.
  2. (figuratively) Inflammatory or provocative action; instigation.
    • 2012, Piers Brendon, ‘Beginning the Dissent’, Literary Review, volume 401:
      But the charge sheet is not just a recapitulation of instances of imperial incendiarism, such as the Amritsar massacre or the bombings of Iraqi villages.
This article is issued from Wiktionary. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.