immolation

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noun im·mo·la·tion \ˌi-mə-ˈlā-shən\

Definition of immolation

1 : the act of immolating : the state of being immolated
2 : something that is immolated

Examples of immolation in a Sentence

the blood-drenched immolations that the ancient Aztecs annually offered by the thousands

Recent Examples of immolation from the Web

A 24-year-old farmer set himself on fire this weekend in Tibet’s first reported self-immolation of the year, and approximately the 150th since 2009.

— WSJ, "The Fires in Tibet", 22 Mar. 2017
For the voters of Fulton County, the retirement of one respected senator, and the self-immolation of another, can’t be good news.

— AJC.com, "Mike Egan, a state GOP pioneer, has died", 6 Jan. 2017
If, for once, Trump could be restrained from further Twitter self-immolation, who knew?

— andy borowitz, The New Yorker, "Aftermath: Sixteen Writers on Trump’s America", 21 Nov. 2016
This is a fundamental truth lost to most Americans watching the immolation of the Middle East from a seemingly safe distance.

— kenneth m. pollack, New York Times, "A RAGE FOR ORDER", 25 Apr. 2016
The Arab Spring started with food protests, the self-immolation of the vegetable vendor in Tunisia.

— john h. richardson, Esquire, "When the End of Human Civilization Is Your Day Job", 7 July 2015
Or some spark, like the self-immolation of Tunisian street vendor Mohammed Bouazizi, could coalesce disillusioned North Koreans into their own Arab Spring, a full-scale grassroots uprising.

— andy greenberg, WIRED, "The Plot to Free North Korea With Smuggled Episodes of ‘Friends’", 1 Mar. 2015
Russia’s act of annexation and its evident designs on eastern Ukraine constitute a reminder that NATO was created to protect Europe after its pair of 20th-century self-immolations.

— roger cohen, The Atlantic, "Yes, It Could Happen Again", 29 July 2014

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

15th Century