immolate

verb

im·​mo·​late ˈi-mə-ˌlāt How to pronounce immolate (audio)
immolated; immolating

transitive verb

1
: to kill or destroy especially by fire
2
: to offer in sacrifice
especially : to kill as a sacrificial victim
immolator noun

Examples of immolate in a Sentence

a man who immolated himself as an act of protest a ceremony in which they immolated their cherished possessions so that the gods would send rain
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
One is the Viking-style funeral for gang leader Ice, whose corpse is immolated astride his motorcycle. Helaine Williams, arkansasonline.com, 10 Aug. 2024 But what survives most of all is the film’s utter ruthlessness—its lack of compunction about immolating an elevator full of partygoers or bumping off its most sympathetic character in a fiery final stretch. The New Yorker, 2 Aug. 2024 Once WeWork filed for an IPO, investor scrutiny of its sub-optimal management and cash immolating business model led to Neumann’s departure. Peter Cohan, Forbes, 27 Mar. 2024 Saddam’s regime had destroyed almost all its WMD programs in the early 1990s but continued for a decade longer to give every indication of having kept much of them, immolating itself in the process. Gideon Rose, Foreign Affairs, 20 Feb. 2024 See all Example Sentences for immolate 

Word History

Etymology

Latin immolatus, past participle of immolare to sprinkle with meal before sacrificing, sacrifice, from in- + mola sacrificial barley cake, literally, millstone; akin to Latin molere to grind — more at meal

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Time Traveler
The first known use of immolate was in the 15th century

Dictionary Entries Near immolate

Cite this Entry

“Immolate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/immolate. Accessed 30 Nov. 2024.

Kids Definition

immolate

verb
im·​mo·​late ˈim-ə-ˌlāt How to pronounce immolate (audio)
immolated; immolating
: to kill as a sacrifice
immolation
ˌim-ə-ˈlā-shən
noun
immolator noun

More from Merriam-Webster on immolate

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!