- add fuel to the flames
- to make an argument or a bad situation worse.
His mild words only added fuel to the fire. Isabelle was furious.
New idioms dictionary. 2014.
add fuel to the flames
Look at other dictionaries:
add fuel to the flames — If you add fuel to the flames, you do or say something that makes a difficult situation even worse. He forgot their wedding anniversary, and his apologies only added fuel to the flames … English Idioms & idiomatic expressions
add fuel to the flames — add fuel to the fire/flames/ phrase to make a bad situation even worse by saying or doing something that makes someone angry Thesaurus: to make something worsesynonym Main entry: add … Useful english dictionary
add fuel to the flames — worsen a problem, exacerbate a problem, fan the fire … English contemporary dictionary
add fuel to the fire — ● fuel * * * add fuel to the fire/flames/ phrase to make a bad situation even worse by saying or doing something that makes someone angry Thesaurus: to make something worsesynonym Main entry … Useful english dictionary
fuel — I (New American Roget s College Thesaurus) Combustible material Nouns 1. fuel, firing, combustible; inflammable, burnable; ignite; fossil fuel; solar, nuclear, etc. energy. See heat, power. 2. peat, turf; [bituminous, soft, anthracite, hard,… … English dictionary for students
add — W1S1 [æd] v ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ 1¦(put with something else)¦ 2¦(count)¦ 3¦(increase)¦ 4¦(say more)¦ 5¦(give a quality)¦ 6 add(ed) to that/this 7 add weight to something 8 to add insult to injury 9 add fuel to the fire/flames … Dictionary of contemporary English
add — [ æd ] verb *** 1. ) transitive to put something with another thing or group of things: When the sauce is thick, add the cheese. add something to something: They ve added two major companies to their impressive list of clients. Here s another… … Usage of the words and phrases in modern English
fuel — fu|el1 W2S2 [ˈfju:əl] n [Date: 1100 1200; : Old French; Origin: fouaille, from feu fire , from Latin focus; FOCUS1] [U and C] a substance such as coal, gas, or oil that can be burned to produce heat or energy ▪ The plane was running low on fuel.… … Dictionary of contemporary English
add — verb 1 PUT WITH (T) to put something with something else or with a group of other things: add sth to sth: Do you want to add your name to the list? | I gave him a rare Swedish stamp to add to his collection. 2 COUNTING (I, T) to put two or more… … Longman dictionary of contemporary English
add */*/*/ — UK [æd] / US verb Word forms add : present tense I/you/we/they add he/she/it adds present participle adding past tense added past participle added 1) [transitive] to put something with another thing or group of things When the sauce is thick, add … English dictionary
