incinerate

American  

[in-sin-uh-reyt] / ɪnˈsɪn əˌreɪt /

verb (used with object)

incinerated, incinerating

1. to burn or reduce to ashes; cremate.

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incinerate British  

/ ɪnˈsɪnəˌreɪt /

verb

1. to burn up completely; reduce to ashes

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Other Word Forms

• incineration noun
• unincinerated adjective

Etymology

Origin of incinerate

1545–55; < Medieval Latin incinerātus (past participle of incinerāre ) < Latin in- in- ² + ciner- (stem of cinis ) ashes + -ātus -ate ¹

Example Sentences

Politicians will be tempted to let inflation whittle them down instead, incinerating the value of very long-term bonds.

From The Wall Street Journal

The canisters, which can explode when heated or crushed, are damaging furnaces in energy recovery facilities, where treated waste is incinerated and converted into energy.

From BBC

It describes the behavior of some speculators in volatile stocks or cryptocurrencies who incinerate more of their savings after failing to cash in on big paper gains.

From The Wall Street Journal

For example, leveraged funds attract savers with quick short-term gains but have incinerated billions of dollars through gradual value decay tied to volatility.

From The Wall Street Journal

The electricity it makes is expensive, its technology has been superseded, and it’s incinerating thousands of birds mid-flight each year.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• consume
• cremate
• ignite
• scorch
• torch