incinerate

verb

in·​cin·​er·​ate in-ˈsi-nə-ˌrāt 

incinerated; incinerating

transitive verb

: to cause to burn to ashes

incineration

in-ˌsi-nə-ˈrā-shən 

noun

Examples of incinerate in a Sentence

The waste is incinerated in a large furnace.

Recent Examples on the Web

Every year in the United States, about five million cattle hides are either incinerated or dumped. —Esha Chhabra, Forbes.com, 27 Aug. 2025

No, the Giants will not incinerate their charming ballpark on the shores of McCovey Cove. —Andrew Baggarly, New York Times, 27 Aug. 2025

The space agency that revolutionized our view of the Universe through its flagship missions like Voyager, Hubble, Chandra, Spitzer, and JWST is at risk of having nearly its entire mission portfolio incinerated. —Ethan Siegel, Big Think, 20 Aug. 2025

Over eons, these increasingly dense elements burn away within the core as lighter elements incinerate across successive, encompassing layers. —Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 20 Aug. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Medieval Latin incineratus, past participle of incinerare, from Latin in- + ciner-, cinis ashes; akin to Greek konis dust, ashes

First Known Use

1555, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for incinerate

• abbreviate
• accelerate
• accommodate
• accumulate
• acuminate
• adjudicate
• adulterate
• affiliate
• agglomerate
• agglutinate
• alleviate
• amalgamate

Kids Definition

incinerate

verb

in·​cin·​er·​ate in-ˈsin-ə-ˌrāt 

incinerated; incinerating

: to burn to ashes

incineration

-ˌsin-ə-ˈrā-shən 

noun

Medical Definition

incinerate

transitive verb

in·​cin·​er·​ate in-ˈsin-ə-ˌrāt 

incinerated; incinerating

: to cause to burn to ashes