incinerate
Americanverb (used with object)
-
incinerates,
present (3rd person singular)
-
incinerated,
past participle, past
-
incinerating
present participle
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
incineratesimple
-
incineratessimple
-
have incineratedperfect
-
has incineratedperfect
-
am incineratingprogressive
-
are incineratingprogressive
-
is incineratingprogressive
-
have been incineratingperfect progressive
-
has been incineratingperfect progressive
Past
-
incineratedsimple
-
had incineratedperfect
-
was incineratingprogressive
-
were incineratingprogressive
-
had been incineratingperfect progressive
Future
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
Explanation
See incinerate and think: "burn, baby, burn!" Whether it’s an old love letter that makes you sad or a terrible picture of yourself, it might be better just to incinerate it, meaning, you burn it. When you burn something beyond recognition, you incinerate it, as its Latin origins in incinerare, or "into ashes" shows. Once you incinerate something, that’s pretty much all that’s left: ashes. The word has a formal feel and is often used to refer to the removal of waste material — your city might incinerate garbage, for example — but you can use it any time you need to reduce something to ashes.
Vocabulary lists containing incinerate
The Book Thief
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Slaughterhouse-Five
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
The Wednesday Wars
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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.
See Examples For:
You probably aren’t rich or well-connected enough to have a 24 year-old incinerate your savings.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 4, 2026
There’s “torch,” at the high end of high intensity, when flames rise into the forest crown and incinerate everything.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 13, 2026
It is promoting waste-to-energy sites that incinerate garbage and produce electricity, with 34 planned within two years.
From Barron's ● Feb. 17, 2026
“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
“Oh really. Aren’t you afraid I’ll incinerate you?”
From "Strange the Dreamer" by Laini Taylor
The machine incinerates the feathers at extremely high temperatures, measuring the emitted mercury.
From Reuters ● Aug. 5, 2023
Then a specialist smelting firm retrieves around 90% of the metals in the phone - a process which incinerates the plastic parts.
From BBC ● Nov. 29, 2021
Daenerys incinerates the rooms where, years ago, Ned argued with Robert and the Small Council not to assassinate her.
From Slate ● May 17, 2019
This is the game you burn, even though it may also be the game that incinerates the team’s playoff chances.
From Washington Post ● Dec. 20, 2016
Springs of ancient wrath spray and fling its repressed fury , heeding not whom or what it incinerates when gravity reclaims lava?s spurts .
From NATURAE by Dom
Thomas said a large wildfire on Mynydd Llantysilio near Llangollen, Denbighshire, in 2018 incinerated about 10cm of peat in some areas.
From BBC ● Aug. 6, 2026
The Earth’s atmosphere has always incinerated bits of incoming debris—we call them shooting stars.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 11, 2026
Other residents lost more than just their cars, as their businesses were incinerated down to the cement, including a motorcycle store in the southern La Vena neighborhood.
From Barron's ● Feb. 24, 2026
A macabre fireworks show unfolds each day along I-15 west of Las Vegas, as birds fly into concentrated beams of sunlight and are instantly incinerated, leaving wisps of white smoke against the blue desert sky.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 11, 2026
First, they took my jumpsuit and shoes and incinerated them.
From "Ready Player One: A Novel" by Ernest Cline
"By reusing plastic waste that is already in Hawaii, we can reduce the environmental and economic impacts of transporting waste plastics from the islands, incinerating it or dumping it in Hawaii's overflowing landfills."
From Science Daily ● Jun. 28, 2026
After all, the “Toy Story” franchise has had pure villains before — one of them almost got away with incinerating the toys for good!
From Salon ● Jun. 21, 2026
Japan does relatively well on generating electricity by incinerating trash, too.
From Barron's ● Mar. 25, 2026
Politicians will be tempted to let inflation whittle them down instead, incinerating the value of very long-term bonds.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 12, 2026
Then an incinerating white light filled the world, accompanied by an earsplitting wall of sound.
From "Ready Player One: A Novel" by Ernest Cline
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.
