pyromania

[ pahy-ruh-mey-nee-uh, -meyn-yuh ]
/ ˌpaɪ rəˈmeɪ ni ə, -ˈmeɪn yə /

noun

a compulsion to set things on fire.

Origin of pyromania

First recorded in 1835–45; pyro- + -mania

OTHER WORDS FROM pyromania

py·ro·ma·ni·ac [pahy-ruh-mey-nee-ak] /ˌpaɪ rəˈmeɪ niˌæk/, noun py·ro·ma·ni·a·cal [pahy-roh-muh-nahy-uh-kuh l] /ˌpaɪ roʊ məˈnaɪ ə kəl/, adjective

Example sentences from the Web for pyromaniac

  • “My gut is telling me it is a pyromaniac having a good time and likes watching the buildings burn,” he says.

    Who’s Setting This Small Town on Fire? |Christine Pelisek |April 16, 2013 |DAILY BEAST
  • They could not feel worse if they learned that the child was a thief or a pyromaniac.

    Woman |William J. Robinson

British Dictionary definitions for pyromaniac

pyromania
/ (ˌpaɪrəʊˈmeɪnɪə) /

noun

psychiatry the uncontrollable impulse and practice of setting things on fire

Derived forms of pyromania

pyromaniac, noun pyromaniacal (ˌpaɪrəʊməˈnaɪəkəl), adjective

Medical definitions for pyromaniac

pyromania
[ pī′rō-mānē-ə, -mānyə ]

n.

An uncontrollable impulse to start fires.

Other words from pyromania

py′ro•mani•ac′ (-mānē-ăk′) adj. n.

Cultural definitions for pyromaniac

pyromania
[ (peye-roh-may-nee-uh) ]

An uncontrollable urge to set fires.