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cremate

verb
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cre·​mate | \ ˈkrē-ˌmāt How to pronounce cremate (audio) , kri-ˈmāt How to pronounce cremate (audio) \
cremated; cremating

Definition of cremate

transitive verb

: to reduce to ashes by burning cremate a dead body
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Other Words from cremate

cremation \ kri-​ˈmā-​shən How to pronounce cremation (audio) \ noun

Examples of cremate in a Sentence

He wants to be cremated when he dies.
Recent Examples on the Web Little Ellie was cremated — and her ashes, temporarily placed in a box as the family waits for their custom urn, needed to come home. — Sarah Schreiber, Good Housekeeping, "Heartbroken Mom Posts Photo of Her Daughter's Car Seat As She Brings Home Her Ashes," 20 Mar. 2017 Huey was cremated and brought back home to be with her husband to watch over her. — orlandosentinel.com, "Deaths in Central Florida: 12/4," 4 Dec. 2019 Soon, Amy hopes, the remains will be returned to the family so they can be cremated. — Aubrey Wieber, Anchorage Daily News, "Anchorage woman whose remains were found earlier this year was victim of a homicide, troopers say," 31 Dec. 2019 Devout Hindus go there to die so that they can be cremated on the ghats or on floating rafts and have their ashes can be strewn on the water to free them from the cycle of death and rebirth. — New York Times, "The Ganges Brims With Dangerous Bacteria," 23 Dec. 2019 The Versace family flew Gianni's body to Italy to be cremated within days of his death, leaving investigators little time to conduct a post-mortem evaluation. — Leah Silverman, Town & Country, "How Did Andrew Cunanan Get Away With Murder?," 11 Feb. 2018 His funeral took place Sunday and he will be cremated, the statement said. — Mitchell Mccluskey, CNN, "Chuy Bravo, Chelsea Handler's sidekick on TV talk show, dies at 63," 16 Dec. 2019 The Singaporean government also exhumed and cremated remains that were compromised by encroaching building and crowding. — Caroline Delbert, Popular Mechanics, "Extreme Weather Could Wreak Havoc on Cemeteries," 7 Nov. 2019 In India, Hindus have a long tradition of cremating relatives on an open-air pyre. — Becky Little, National Geographic, "The environmental toll of cremating the dead," 5 Nov. 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'cremate.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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First Known Use of cremate

1874, in the meaning defined above

History and Etymology for cremate

Latin crematus, past participle of cremare to burn up, cremate

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Time Traveler for cremate

Time Traveler

The first known use of cremate was in 1874

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Statistics for cremate

Last Updated

16 Feb 2020

Cite this Entry

“Cremate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cremate. Accessed 28 Feb. 2020.

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More Definitions for cremate

cremate

verb
How to pronounce cremate (audio) How to pronounce cremate (audio)

English Language Learners Definition of cremate

: to burn (the body of a person who has died)

See the full definition for cremate in the English Language Learners Dictionary

cremate

verb
cre·​mate | \ ˈkrē-ˌmāt How to pronounce cremate (audio) \
cremated; cremating

Kids Definition of cremate

: to burn (as a dead body) to ashes

Other Words from cremate

cremation \ kri-​ˈmā-​shən \ noun

cremate

transitive verb
cre·​mate | \ ˈkrē-ˌmāt How to pronounce cremate (audio) , kri-ˈ How to pronounce cremate (audio) \
cremated; cremating

Medical Definition of cremate

: to reduce (as a dead body) to ashes by burning

Other Words from cremate

cremation \ kri-​ˈmā-​shən How to pronounce cremation (audio) \ noun

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More from Merriam-Webster on cremate

Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for cremate

Rhyming Dictionary: Words that rhyme with cremate

Spanish Central: Translation of cremate

Nglish: Translation of cremate for Spanish Speakers

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