Agency Dictionary

Combustion

nounPronunciation: /kəmˈbʌs.tʃən/

In Portuguese: Combustão

What does “Combustion” mean?

The chemical process of burning, producing heat, light, and mechanical energy. In literary metaphors, it evokes furious velocity, explosive energy, and rapid expenditure of power.

Etymology

From Old French combustion, from Latin combustio, "a burning", from combustus, past participle of comburere, "to burn up". The Latin verb joins the intensive prefix com- to a stem burere that never existed as a separate word: it arose from a mistaken division of amburere, "to burn around", which is really amb- plus urere, "to burn". The noun has been in English since the 15th century.

Usage note

Mostly a technical word, as in internal combustion engine and spontaneous combustion; burning is the everyday term. Figurative use suggests energy spent fast and with heat.

Synonyms

burning
ignition
incineration
conflagration

Often confused with

ignition: Ignition is the moment a fuel starts to burn, or the device that starts it; combustion is the whole burning reaction that follows.

Word family

combust
combustible
combustibility
combustive
combustor

Source editions

Where this entry comes from in the Agency editorial.

Issue.6 - Time & Consumer Psychology In CrisisMarch 10, 2023Read the edition

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Also from these editions: terms

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Fleetingadjective: Lasting for only a very short time; brief and transient. It characterizes momentary sensory impressions, temporary fashions, and unstable social commitments.
Livelihoodnoun: A means of securing the necessities of life through honest occupation, craft, or employment. It represents the material and vocational foundation supporting human dignity.
Maleficencenoun: The practice or tendency of doing harm, evil, or mischief to others. In ethics, it represents the violation of moral duty toward human well-being.
Malleableadjective: Easily influenced, pliable, or capable of being reshaped without breaking. In social theory, it describes institutions and human relationships that alter continuously.
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Inertianoun: The tendency of an object to remain at rest or in uniform motion unless acted upon by an external force, or a state of sluggish inaction in organizations.