immolate

verb

im·​mo·​late ˈi-mə-ˌlāt 

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

ˈi-mə-ˌlā-tər 

noun

Synonyms

• offer
• sacrifice

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

Hart thus far has used his own mysterious power to immolate both a young boy and Emperor Corrino’s (Mark Strong) trusted Truthsayer Kasha, and severely singe Emperor Richese. —Matt Webb Mitovich, TVLine, 5 Dec. 2024

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

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

Kids Definition

immolate

verb

im·​mo·​late ˈim-ə-ˌlāt 

immolated; immolating

: to kill as a sacrifice

immolation

ˌim-ə-ˈlā-shən

noun

immolator

ˈim-ə-ˌlāt-ər 

noun