flame war
/fleɪm wɔː/
CommonA prolonged hostile argument online where participants trade insults instead of points.
Classic old-internet behavior. Still happens constantly. The defining feature is that the argument stopped being about the original topic and became about the people.
Real-world examples4 examples
| # | Example | What it means | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | bro one post about PC vs console and the comments turned into a flame war instantly | A predictable topic triggered an immediate hostile argument. | reddit, 2023 |
| 02 | they have been going at it for 3 days. full flame war at this point | The argument has lasted so long it qualifies as a sustained online conflict. | x, 2024 |
| 03 | every time someone posts tier lists in this server it becomes a flame war | A specific type of post reliably causes the community to fight. | x, 2023 |
| 04 | I scrolled past the flame war. not reading all that | The fight is too long and pointless to engage with. | reddit, 2022 |
Use it when
- A comment thread or chat has turned into pure insults with no substance.
- Two or more people are in a prolonged back-and-forth fight online.
- A debate in a forum has gone completely off the rails.
Do not use it when
- It is a quick one-off argument between two people.
- The discussion is heated but still constructive.
Flame war vs trolling
flame war
Flame war is a mutual prolonged fight where both sides are genuinely angry.
VS
trolling-in-game
Trolling is deliberate provocation, usually one-sided, where the troll finds it funny.
Origin and context
Term originates from Usenet and early internet forums in the 1980s and 1990s, where hostile posts were called flames.
- First seen
- 1980s
- Confidence
- high
Cite this page
Use this stable URL to reference the entry.
https://slang.fyi/flame-warUpdated: 2026-08-29License: CC BY 4.0