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

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

There are other legal advisors who have similarly immolated their careers on his behalf. —Matt Ford, The New Republic, 2 Nov. 2023

Also immolated were irreplaceable family heirlooms. —Reis Thebault, Washington Post, 18 Aug. 2023

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