incendier

to set fire to

verb ahn-sahn-DYEH Rare

Origin: from incendie 'fire, blaze'

Also means

to burn down

Usage Note

Incendier literally means to set a building or area on fire. In figurative use it means to blast or berate someone harshly: se faire incendier par son chef means 'to get a dressing-down from one's boss'. The noun incendie (m) means a major fire or blaze. The agent noun incendiaire can mean arsonist or, as an adjective, inflammatory.

Examples

"Des militants ont tenté d'incendier le bâtiment."

Natural Translation

Activists tried to set the building on fire.

Related Words

Explore French by topic

FrenchNow

Telling Time in French: Hours, Quarters, 24-Hour

Telling time in French means Il est cinq heures, et quart, et demie, and the 24-hour clock like quatorze heures trente. Read any French schedule.

June 4, 2026 5 min read

FrenchNow

French Object Pronouns: le, la, lui, leur Order

Le lui or lui le? Use the à-name test to pick le/la vs lui/leur, then one slot chart to order two French object pronouns — plus the command exception.

June 4, 2026 6 min read

FrenchNow

French False Friends: 25 Faux Amis to Avoid

French false friends look like English words but mean something else: actuellement is not actually, sensible means sensitive. Here are 25 faux amis to avoid.

June 3, 2026 5 min read

FrenchNow

Avoir or Être? Picking the Right Past-Tense Helper

Use avoir for the passé composé unless the verb is reflexive or one of ~16 DR MRS VANDERTRAMP motion verbs, which take être and force agreement.

June 4, 2026 5 min read