cremate

[ kree-meyt ]

/ ˈkri meɪt /

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.

Nearby words

crem, cremains, cremaster, cremasteric artery, cremasteric reflex, cremate, cremationist, cremator, crematorium, crematory, cremer

Origin of cremate

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

Related forms

cre·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 cremation

Then Heal STL was burned down Monday like a moribund body for cremation.
The Baptism of Michael Brown Sr. and Ferguson’s Baptism by Fire|Justin Glawe|November 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Cammue, whose agency has now performed a thorough assessment of the current cremation process at Boystown, is extremely concerned.
Rage Against the Ebola Crematorium|Abby Haglage|November 11, 2014|DAILY BEAST
"Cremation is not necessary to have safe and dignified burial," Tarik Jasarevic tells me.
Rage Against the Ebola Crematorium|Abby Haglage|November 11, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Last November, for example, I managed to track down a celebrated tantric at a cremation ground near Birbhum in West Bengal.
Road Tripping With Sufi Mystics|William Dalrymple|June 18, 2010|DAILY BEAST

The Danish antiquaries are able to refer to a definite period when cremation was abandoned for inhumation.
The Archaeology and Prehistoric Annals of Scotland|Daniel Wilson
Instances show that the two rites of inhumation and cremation were practised side by side.
The Bronze Age in Ireland|George Coffey
The Cremation Society felt that this report much strengthened the case for legislation amending the law of death certification.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 7, Slice 6|Various
But cremation, though not unusual, seems never to have been a general custom with the Maoris.
The Belief in Immortality and the Worship of the Dead|James George Frazer
The arrangements for the cremation varied in different places.
The Popular Religion and Folk-Lore of Northern India, Vol. I (of 2)|W. Crooke

British Dictionary definitions for cremation

cremate

/ (krɪˈmeɪt) /

verb

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

Derived Forms

cremation, 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