cremate

[kree-meyt]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR cremate ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object), cre·mat·ed, cre·mat·ing.

to reduce (a dead body) to ashes by fire, especially as a funeral rite.

to consume by fire; burn.

RELATED WORDS

char, incinerate, scorch

Nearby words

Origin of cremate

1870–75; < Latin cremātus past participle of cremāre to burn to ashes; see -ate¹

Related formscre·ma·tion

[kri-mey-shuh n] /krɪˈmeɪ ʃən/, nounun·cre·mat·ed, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for cremate

It began in 1973 for 8-year-old Huang, when his grandmother made her family promise to not cremate her.
This Week’s Hot Reads: April 23, 2012|Jimmy So|April 24, 2012|DAILY BEAST
Cremate the cadaver together with the board upon which it is fixed.
The Elements of Bacteriological Technique|John William Henry Eyre
They had to cremate the bull for fear the disease would spread.
Thy Rocks and Rills|Robert Ernest Gilbert
They were going to cremate the body on the outskirts of the town, on the beach that faced the East.
Luna Benamor|Vicente Blasco Ibez

To incinerate is to reduce to ashes; the sense differs little from that of cremate, but it is in less popular use.
English Synonyms and Antonyms|James Champlin Fernald
But later "waves" of the fighting charioteers did not cremate their dead.
Ancient Man in Britain|Donald A. (Donald Alexander) Mackenzie

British Dictionary definitions for cremate

cremate

verb

(tr) to burn up (something, esp a corpse) and reduce to ash

Derived Formscremation, nouncremationism, nouncremationist, noun

Word Origin for cremate

C19: from Latin cremāre

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

Word Origin and History for cremate

cremate

1874, a back-formation from cremation. Related: Cremated; cremating.