What is difference between flammable and inflammable?

Answer 1

Inflammable is usually used figuratively: Mr. Smith has an inflammable temper.

In cases where there could be confusion about whether something could be set on fire, flammable should always be used. If something cannot be set afire, the term nonflammable is the correct one.

Flammable's origin is early 19th c Latin: flammare from flamma "a flame."

Inflammable finds its roots in early 17th c French, or Latin, inflammare.

Answer 2

hi. here's the difference between flammable and inflammable. now i know that these two words are quite hard to understand, but i want to make it a bit simpler for you...

okay, FLAMMABLE
If a substance is flammable, then this describes the ease with which this substance catches fire. okay, i think the problem that you have here is that the word 'flammable' has a lot of linguistic ambiguity. that is, this word can be confusing to use if you don't know what you are actually meaning it to sound like. the definition of this word can also get mixed up at times..
there are a lot of paragraphs on the net about the mixups that this word has caused, but the most informative, personally, was from a site that was very clear about the meanings and everything. hope this helps you!

Flammable is of relatively recent origin (from Latin flammare "to set on fire" + -able) and has in many contexts (especially safety) taken the place of the older inflammable (Latin inflammare + -able) where inflammare is from in- + flammare and the prefix in- has the same meaning as the preposition "in" (inside), so it literally means "to cause to burn" (cognate with inflammatory and inflammation). The problem is the Latin prefix in- also means "not", so inflammable may also be parsed as "not flammable" (non-flammable) like for example invisible (in- + visible). In Romance languages, the word inflammable is still used with the original Latin meaning (French: inflammable, Spanish: inflamable, Italian: infiammabile, Portuguese: inflamável) and the opposite is built with in- "not": French for non-flammable is ininflammable (in- "not" + inflammable "flammable").

Because of this confusion, the word "inflammable" (on its own) is avoided in technical usage (warning notices, etc). In, for example, the United States and the United Kingdom, trucks carrying gasoline and other (in)flammable substances are always marked "flammable". In other countries, such as India, the words "highly inflammable" are used.[1] In Africa, inflammable is still commonly used as the warning label on petroleum transport trucks.

The Chicago Manual of Style suggests using "flammable" for clarity.[2]

The Elements of Style ("Strunk and White"), on the other hand, says:

Flammable. An oddity, chiefly useful in saving lives. The common word meaning "combustible" is inflammable. But some people are thrown off by the in- and think inflammable means "not combustible." For this reason, trucks carrying gasoline or explosives are now marked FLAMMABLE. Unless you are operating such a truck and hence are concerned with the safety of children and illiterates, use inflammable.

well, yeah, now you know...

Answer 3

Inflammable has two more letters than flammable. That is the only difference.

Answer 4

Flammable means it will burn under our normal air mixture. Inflammable means it will not not burn in normal air. Most inflammable elements turn very flammable, if not explosive, in a pure oxygen environment

Answer 5

You've got to read this..............to clear some misconceptions here:
Flammable and inflammable have the same meaning i.e. the substance for which this adjective has been used can be burnt.
If the substance can't be burnt, it is called non-flammable.
It's a common misconception but I hope everyone will get their fundas right now. By the way, nice question!!!

Answer 6

flammable means easily set on fire
In flammable means easily set on fire
these two words mean the same. to avoid confusion it is better to say flammable,

Answer 7

Hey Venkatesh. Letz see flammable is it can attract fire very easily and inflammable is opposite of that.. See that was easy right.. Ok take care..

Answer 8

inflammable means not flammable and the other one does

Answer 9

Flammable objects are those that cathes fire and burns. Eg.paper, clothes, wood, feather, dry leaves, our hairs etc.

Inflammable objects never burns. Eg. Iron, Stone, Tooth enamal, skull etc.

Answer 10

Nothing. they are the SAME term.

The term you want is NON-flammable