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

In 2020, the wildfires that incinerated nearly half the island took the Southern Ocean Lodge, too. — Laura Dannen Redman, Robb Report, 23 July 2026

Season 2 saw Aemond purposefully incinerating his brother, leaving him badly burned, and decimating the Riverlands while on Vhagar. — Emily Zemler, Los Angeles Times, 20 July 2026

Piled up, buried, boxed, tagged, incinerated, and, sooner or later, anonymous. — Andy Andersen, Vulture, 17 July 2026

Garbage was often incinerated rather than transported to landfills. — Rebecca Florsheim, STAT, 17 July 2026

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