set alight

verb — 2 senses

set alight

verb
1

To cause (something) to begin to burn.

2

Figuratively To arouse passion in (someone); to excite.

  • Each chapel had its saintly shrine, hung around with offerings; its picture above the altar, although closely veiled, if by any painter of renown; and its hallowed tapers, burning continually, to set alight the devotion of the worshippers.1860, Nathaniel Hawthorne, “The Burial Chant”, in The Marble Faun: Or, The Romance of Monte Beni. […], volume I, Boston, Mass.: Ticknor and Fields, →OCLC, page 227:

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — list of authors.