From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishconflagrationcon‧fla‧gra‧tion /ˌkɒnfləˈɡreɪʃən $ ˌkɑːn-/ noun [countable] formal 1 FIREa very large fire that destroys a lot of buildings, forests etc► see thesaurus at fire2 WARa violent situation or war
Examples from the Corpus
conflagration• One spark and the whole of your week's washing could start a conflagration.• Apart from conflagrations in buildings, environmental fires can occur.• Those, in concert with fiery remains of the ships and tanks, consumed the airship in a sun-like conflagration.• The conflict has the potential to become a major conflagration.• Any good ante-bellum history will detail the stupidities that led to this utterly needless conflagration.• The collapse of part of the roof had let in air which intensified the conflagration.• Bertha vividly remembers the conflagration that consumed her childhood home.• In Charleston, the surrender had been anticipated since the conflagration started.Origin conflagration (1400-1500) Latin conflagratio, from conflagrare “to burn”, from com- ( → COM-) + flagrare “to burn” 