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Synonyms

burnt offering

American  

noun

  1. an offering burnt upon an altar in sacrifice to a deity.

burnt offering British  

noun

  1. a sacrificial offering burnt, usually on an altar, to honour, propitiate, or supplicate a deity

"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 burnt offering

Middle English word dating back to 1350–1400

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.

In the superb season finale, Kendall is like a burnt offering kindling an unexpected sea of flames.

From The New Yorker • Dec. 10, 2019

But this novel is not simply a burnt offering, a Baedeker of dread and decay.

From New York Times • Dec. 6, 2017

As though the sheer bulk of that paper would deter me from putting it back in my wallet, and, defeated, I’d simply leave it there for you like a burnt offering on your sticky altar.

From New York Times • Feb. 26, 2010

Part burnt offering, part wailing wall, the basin testifies to calamity, but it stands--muscular proof that New York lives and life prevails.

From Time Magazine Archive

From ancient times the burnt offering was the most solemn kind of sacrifice.

From The History of Antiquity, Vol. II (of VI) by Duncker, Max

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.