incinerate
Americanverb (used with object)
verb
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
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The government will invest $3.5 billion in a project to build 34 waste-to-energy sites within two years that would incinerate garbage to produce electricity, he said.
From Barron's • Mar. 10, 2026
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 • Feb. 9, 2026
One man was caught using a blowtorch to incinerate debris in West Hills as the Kenneth fire raged above him, police said.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 6, 2025
“Ideally we don’t want to incinerate them because it has to be done very, very slowly. But if have to, we will,” said Bob Cappadona, who leads the company’s environmental services division.
From Seattle Times • Oct. 19, 2023
Although in an understandable hurry to incinerate the magazines, Vincent paused for a moment to stare at a tiny yellow-breasted warbler flitting about in the green mist of the left-hand tamarisk tree.
From "The Milagro Beanfield War" by John Nichols
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
