blaze across the plains; spread rapidly
Tone colorsmāmámǎmàma
Meanings
2 senses · 5 examplesverb
to burn across the plains (of a great fire)
literaryLiteral meaning describing how a large fire spreads uncontrollably across open grasslands.
Shān山
huǒ火
shī失
qù去
le了
kòng控
zhì制
，
xùn迅
sù速
liáo燎
yuán原
。
The mountain fire was out of control and rapidly blazed across the plains.
Zhàn战
chǎng场
shàng上
de的
xiāo硝
yān烟
rú如
liáo燎
yuán原
liè烈
huǒ火
。
The smoke on the battlefield was like a prairie fire.
verb
to spread rapidly and widely; to become an unstoppable trend
literaryMetaphorical usage, extremely common in the idiom '星星之火，可以燎原'. Often describes revolutionary movements, social trends, or rapid growth.
Xīng星
xīng星
zhī之
huǒ火
，
kě可
yǐ以
liáo燎
yuán原
。
A single spark can start a prairie fire.
Kàng抗
yì议
huó活
dòng动
qǐ起
chū初
guī规
mó模
hěn很
xiǎo小
，
dàn但
hěn很
kuài快
jiù就
liáo燎
yuán原
quán全
guó国
。
The protest started small but quickly spread like wildfire across the country.
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Xīn新
de的
sī思
cháo潮
rú如
liáo燎
yuán原
zhī之
shì势
，
xí席
juǎn卷
le了
zhěng整
gè个
xué学
shù术
jiè界
。
The new school of thought swept through the entire academic world with the force of a prairie fire.