arson

1 of 2

noun (1)

ar·​son ˈär-sᵊn How to pronounce arson (audio)
Synonyms of arson
: the willful or malicious burning of property (such as a building) especially with criminal or fraudulent intent
Arson was determined to be the cause of the fire.
arsonist
ˈär-sᵊn-ist How to pronounce arson (audio)
noun
arsonous
ˈär-sᵊn-əs How to pronounce arson (audio)
adjective

arsonist

2 of 2

noun (2)

ar·​son·​ist ˈär-sᵊn-ist How to pronounce arsonist (audio)
plural -s
: one who commits arson : incendiary, firebug

Examples of arson in a Sentence

Noun (1) The cause of the fire has not yet been determined, but investigators suspect arson. The town has suffered a rash of arson attacks. The town has suffered a rash of arsons.
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Noun
Jonathan Rinderknecht was charged with destruction of property by means of fire, arson affecting property and setting a timber fire, records show. — N'dea Yancey-Bragg, USA Today, 26 June 2026 The individual alleged to have started the Lachman fire was charged with arson in federal court, though the case ended in a mistrial. — Char Miller, Time, 30 June 2026 Jonathan Rinderknecht was on trial for destruction of property by means of fire, arson affecting property used in interstate commerce and timber set afire. — Rebecca Ellis, Los Angeles Times, 26 June 2026 Poole and Dakes had been charged with first- and second-degree murder, arson, first- and second-degree assault and conspiracy to commit first- and second-degree murder, police said at the time. — Samira Asma-Sadeque, PEOPLE, 30 June 2026 See All Example Sentences for arson

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

borrowed from Anglo-French arsun, arson, arsoun "fire, willful setting of a destructive fire, burn on the skin, branding," going back to Gallo-Romance *ārsiōn-, ārsiō, from Latin ārdēre (perfect and supine stem ārs-) "to catch fire, burn, blaze" + -tiōn-, -tiō, suffix of verbal action — more at ardent

Note: Outside of Anglo-French, arsun, arson (with a by-form arsion) is sparsely attested in Old and Middle French. Französisches etymologisches Wörterbuch notes that medieval attestations and later survivals are markedly regional (west and southwest France, including Normandy and Francophone Brittany). — The normal suffix of verbal action in later classical Latin and Late Latin was -tiōn-, -tiō, added to the verbal base (competing with the u-stem suffix -tus more common in earlier Latin), with the exception of a small number of formations with -iōn-, -iō (see condition entry 1, legion entry 1, region). Because the phonetic stem changes conditioned by the verbal adjective/past participle suffix -tus (Indo-European *-tos) are identical to those conditioned by -tiōn-, -tiō, new formations with this suffix in post-classical Latin and proto-Romance copy the morphophonemic alterations of the verbal adjective. This is evident in *ārsiō, formed from ārdēre. Note that the perfect ārsī and presumed (?) supine ārsum are most likely themselves analogical forms based on second-conjugation verbs such as mansī, mansum (from manēre "to wait, remain"), given that ārdēre (from āridus, ārdus "dry") cannot be of great antiquity in Latin.

First Known Use

Noun (1)

circa 1680, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of arson was circa 1680

Rhymes for arson

See All Rhymes for arson

Browse Nearby Words

arsoite
arson
arsonate
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Arson.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/arson. Accessed 7 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation

Kids Definition

arson

noun
ar·​son ˈär-sᵊn How to pronounce arson (audio)
: the illegal burning of a building or other property
arsonist
-əst How to pronounce arson (audio)
noun

Legal Definition

arson

noun
ar·​son ˈärs-ᵊn How to pronounce arson (audio)
: the act or crime of willfully, wrongfully, and unjustifiably setting property on fire often for the purpose of committing fraud (as on an insurance company)
arsonist
-ist How to pronounce arson (audio)
noun
Etymology

Noun

Anglo-French arsoun, alteration of Old French arsin, literally, conflagration, from ars, past participle of ardre to burn

More from Merriam-Webster on arson

Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for arson

Nglish: Translation of arson for Spanish Speakers

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about arson

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

One-Word Oxymorons: Bittersweet, Spendthrift, and More

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
hangman letters and game
Hangman Lightning Round Figure out which word fits in the blanks.
See All