fan the flames
"fan-the-flames" is a 12-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“fan the flames” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 14
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To intensify or worsen an already difficult situation.
Corpus desk
Index EN-fan-the-flames · fan the flames · English
fan the flames · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-MEGA 14 letters
- VOW-4 4 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "F" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | fan the flames |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| Letters | 14 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “fan the flames” in English
Rare enough to double-check
fan the flames is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as averb. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "To intensify or worsen an already difficult situation.".
fan the flames doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.
Wiktionary doesn't record an etymology for this headword, so its spelling is best read as a straightforward mapping from sound to letter. The correct English form is fan the flames, spelled F-A-N- -T-H-E- -F-L-A-M-E-S.
Definition
- 1To intensify or worsen an already difficult situation.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how fan the flames appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
In simple terms, both superpowers poured gasoline on the fire and fanned the flames, hoping that out of the ashes would arise a region committed either to democracy or to Soviet-style communism.
Far from putting a distance between them, his absence was only fanning the flames of her affection.
Synonyms
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.