slow burn
Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.
Meaning · English
A feeling of anger or resentment that builds gradually over time
Literally: a fire that burns slowly
Where it’s used:
Used
Widespread English
Examples
It's a slow - burn strategy: meaning if you have a sense of your own value you will not seek to boost your self - esteem by buying things unnecessarily. The theme was empowerment, inspiration and well - being.
The slow burn of resentment smouldered inside her.
British National Corpus sentence via the MAGPIE corpus (CC BY 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-30)
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 2026-07-31; pending editor spot-check.
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Common questions
What does “slow burn” mean?
A feeling of anger or resentment that builds gradually over time Literally: a fire that burns slowly
Is “slow burn” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.
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