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.

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. 2018

Related Words for cremate

char, incinerate, scorch

Examples from the Web for cremate

Contemporary Examples of 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

Historical Examples of cremate

The Muhammadans desired to bury it and the Hindus to cremate it.
The Tribes and Castes of the Central Provinces of India--Volume I (of IV)
R.V. Russell
Cremate the cadaver together with the board upon which it is fixed.
The Elements of Bacteriological Technique
John William Henry Eyre
But later "waves" of the fighting charioteers did not cremate their dead.
Ancient Man in Britain
Donald A. (Donald Alexander) Mackenzie
They had to cremate the bull for fear the disease would spread.
Thy Rocks and Rills
Robert Ernest Gilbert
In some cases these fires were fierce and long continued, as if the object had been to cremate the body.
The Prehistoric World
E. A. Allen

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

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