auto-da-fé

[ aw-toh-duh-fey ]

/ ˌɔ toʊ dəˈfeɪ /

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noun, plural au·tos-da-fé.

the public declaration of the judgment passed on persons tried in the courts of the Spanish Inquisition, followed by the execution by the civil authorities of the sentences imposed, especially the burning of condemned heretics at the stake.

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Origin of auto-da-fé

1715–25; <Portuguese: act of the faith

Words nearby auto-da-fé

autocratic, autocross, Autocue, autocutie, autocycle, auto-da-fé, auto-destruct, autodial, autodialer, autodidact, autodidactic

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use auto-da-fé in a sentence

It is doubtful if anything short of an auto da fe would have met their approval.
The Behavior of Crowds|Everett Dean Martin
The roasting of a human victim at the auto da fe was a purely democratic institution.
Mexico and its Religion|Robert A. Wilson
The auto-da-fe was almost identical with the sermo generalis of the medieval inquisition.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 3, Part 1, Slice 1|Various
Indeed, there were not wanting many heretic-hating persons who affirmed that an auto-da-fe was got up expressly for the occasion.
The International Monthly, Volume 4, No. 4, November 1, 1851|Various

They had probably been looking forward to the occasion, as a Spaniard to his auto da fe, as an interesting spectacle.
The House of Walderne|A. D. Crake

British Dictionary definitions for auto-da-fé

auto-da-fé

/ (ˌɔːtəʊdəˈfeɪ) /

noun plural autos-da-fé

history a ceremony of the Spanish Inquisition including the pronouncement and execution of sentences passed on sinners or heretics

the burning to death of people condemned as heretics by the Inquisition

Word Origin for auto-da-fé

C18: from Portuguese, literally: act of the faith

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