Past tense of deflagrate; burned or caused to burn with sudden, intense flame and heat.
Past tense formation of deflagrate, from Latin deflagrare. English adopted this scientific verb in the 1700s when chemists needed precise language for describing different types of combustion.
When a chemist heats a compound and it suddenly ignites with a bright flash, they'd say it deflagrated—it's like the difference between a candle (burning) and a sparkler (deflagrating).
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