English · Idiom Candidate

fan the flames

Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.

Both English Tiếng Việt

Meaning · English

to make a situation or feeling worse by adding to it

Nghĩa · Tiếng Việt

làm cho tình hình hoặc cảm xúc trở nên tồi tệ hơn

Machine-translated — suggest a fix

Literally: to blow on fire to make it burn more

Where it’s used: Used Widespread English

Examples

The politician's speech fanned the flames of racial tension

AI-drafted example auto-approved by rule (illustrative, not a corpus attestation)

Sources & notes

Listed in Wiktionary’s “English idioms” category (retrieved 2026-07-29); definition pending editorial review. Definition drafted by AI (@cf/meta/llama-3.3-70b-instruct-fp8-fast) and auto-approved by rule on 2026-07-30; pending editor spot-check.

Equivalents & related

Near equivalent đổ dầu vào lửa to add fuel to the fire, to fan the flames Tiếng Việt Near equivalent add fuel to the fire Euphemism for to make a situation worse. English · via đổ dầu vào lửa Near equivalent acquired taste Something that people may not like initially but learn to appreciate over time English · via đổ dầu vào lửa

Lighter cards are two steps away in the meaning graph — equivalents of equivalents, reached via the entry shown on the card.

Topics: Fire

Common questions

What does “fan the flames” mean?

to make a situation or feeling worse by adding to it Literally: to blow on fire to make it burn more

Is “fan the flames” formal or informal?

No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.

What is the closest equivalent?

“đổ dầu vào lửa” (Tiếng Việt) — near equivalent.