cremate

American  

[kree-mayt] / ˈkri meɪt /

verb (used with object)

• cremates,
  present (3rd person singular)
• cremated,
  past participle,  past
• cremating
  present participle

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

2. to consume by fire; burn.

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cremate British  

/ krɪˈmeɪt /

verb

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

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• cremation
  noun
• cremationism
  noun
• cremationist
  noun
• uncremated
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Participles

• cremating
  present
• cremated
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• cremate
  simple
• cremates
  simple
• have cremated
  perfect
• has cremated
  perfect
• am cremating
  progressive
• are cremating
  progressive
• is cremating
  progressive
• have been cremating
  perfect progressive
• has been cremating
  perfect progressive

Past

• cremated
  simple
• had cremated
  perfect
• was cremating
  progressive
• were cremating
  progressive
• had been cremating
  perfect progressive

Future

• will cremate
  simple
• will have cremated
  perfect
• will be cremating
  progressive
• will have been cremating
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of cremate

First recorded in 1870–75; from Latin cremātus, past participle of cremāre “to burn to ashes”; see -ate ¹

Explanation

When you cremate something, you burn it until only ashes are left. The word cremate is most often used to describe the ceremonial burning of dead bodies. If you burn a grilled cheese sandwich and there is nothing but black ashes left in the pan, you can say you cremated it. Usually, however, people use the verb cremate when they're talking about a practical or ceremonial burning of a body. Many people are cremated after dying, with their ashy remains either buried or scattered in a beautiful place. The Latin root word is cremare, "to burn or consume by fire."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

cremate cremates cremated cremating

As for Spivey, she cried before heading to a funeral home for her daughter, dreading having to fill out a death certificate and decide whether to cremate or bury her firstborn child.

From BBC ● Sep. 9, 2026

Finally, the Daily Mirror reports on families calling for a public inquiry into the funeral director who failed to bury or cremate people and gave bereaved relatives the ashes of strangers.

From BBC ● Jul. 31, 2026

Former undertaker Robert Bush admitted 67 offences, including failing to bury and cremate people at Legacy Independent Funeral Directors in Hull.

From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026

Wellman, owner of Sorrento Valley Pet Cemetery, stepped in to offer to cremate the remaining bodies, and says Angel Paws’ operation was “disorganized and unprofessional.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 5, 2025

I don't care a "ram", as Nicky would say, whether you bury me or cremate me; only you might give my Theocritus to old Parsons, and my revolver to Nicky if it doesn't burst.

From The Tree of Heaven by May Sinclair

Not to worry, he said, promising to put his new cremates to work: “We’ll catch up next weekend.”

From Washington Post ● May 31, 2020

It’s July 29, 1981, when Patrick cremates his mother—the day, as it happens, that Prince Charles marries Lady Diana Spencer.

From The New Yorker ● Jun. 22, 2018

Nowadays, if you die in Pierce County and you fall into two categories - both indigent and unclaimed - the county cremates your body and disposes of your remains.

From Washington Times ● Sep. 3, 2016

The administrator’s office cremates unidentified migrants instead of burying them — a switch that saves the county roughly $860 a person, said Rosie Blankenship, assistant public administrator for Imperial County.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 18, 2016

A woman always embalms the corpse of a dead love; a man wisely cremates it, and plants a new love in the ashes.

From A Guide to Men Being Encore Reflections of a Bachelor Girl by Helen Rowland

Nikole Bresciani, president and chief executive officer of the Inland Valley Humane Society & SPCA, said officers seized 405 cats and 119 cremated animal remains.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 23, 2026

She was home alone and needed help lifting her beloved pet’s body into her car so she could take it to be cremated.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 17, 2026

She had wanted to bury her mother in their home village, but for now that is impossible, so she has been cremated and her ashes sit in Lyubov's apartment in Belgorod, about 100 miles away.

From BBC ● Sep. 12, 2026

The dead are traditionally cremated on funeral pyres in Hindu-majority Nepal, and the burials are viewed as long-term storage until families can retrieve them.

From Barron's ● Aug. 30, 2026

She was going to be cremated in two days, as soon as all the paperwork was complete.

From "The Epic Fail of Arturo Zamora" by Pablo Cartaya

The family has also said Mexican authorities and funeral home representatives have repeatedly suggested cremating Blair’s remains.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 19, 2023

Several political parties in the country’s Congress have expressed support for cremating his remains, and analysts expect lawmakers to approve the bill.

From Washington Post ● Sep. 16, 2021

Workers in New Delhi on Tuesday building new platforms for cremating bodies, as the coronavirus takes an increasing toll on the country.Credit...

From New York Times ● Apr. 28, 2021

The victim's family accused local police of cremating her body without their consent, although the authorities denied this.

From BBC ● Dec. 18, 2020

The great occasions for dancing were before going to war, and when cremating the bodies of their dead.

From Indians of the Yosemite Valley and Vicinity Their History, Customs and Traditions by Galen Clark

Related Words

• char
• incinerate