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Showing results for self-immolation. Search instead for selfimmolation.
Synonyms

self-immolation

American  
[self-im-uh-lay-shuhn] / ˈsɛlfˌɪm əˈleɪ ʃən /

noun

  1. voluntary sacrifice or denial of oneself, as for an ideal or another person.


self-immolation British  

noun

  1. the act or an instance of setting fire to oneself

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of self-immolation

First recorded in 1810–20


Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

Meanwhile, these reporters can’t help but do what they do, so in love with their jobs, they press on, smiling at their own self-immolation.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 10, 2025

All this comes on the heels of some questionable behavior and ill-advised alliances, among them: the divorce from Sarah “Fergie” Ferguson, hanging around with Jeffrey Epstein, and the self-immolation by TV interview in 2019.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 2, 2025

His death, captured in an iconic photo by American photographer Malcolm Browne, drew global attention to Vietnam — and to political self-immolation.

From Salon ● May 4, 2024

At the site of his self-immolation, her comments resonated with the visiting Chinese: “The predicament of a country can only be resolved by the people of that country themselves.”

From New York Times ● Jan. 19, 2024

Wells agrees to commit this act of self-immolation, and amidst a wreath of fire and brimstone he disappears, melodramatic to the last, through a trap-door in the stage.

From The Secrets of a Savoyard by Henry A. Lytton

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