self-immolation

[ self-im-uh-ley-shuh n ]

/ ˈsɛlfˌɪm əˈleɪ ʃən /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR self-immolation ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

voluntary sacrifice or denial of oneself, as for an ideal or another person.

Nearby words

self-identify, self-identity, self-ignite, self-image, self-immolating, self-immolation, self-important, self-imposed, self-improvement, self-inclusive, self-incompatible

Origin of self-immolation

First recorded in 1810–20

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for self-immolation

Or is it “a beautiful flare of ruin, self-immolation, disaster?”
Time Bandit: Donna Tartt’s “Goldfinch”|Liesl Schillinger|October 23, 2013|DAILY BEAST
In higher-income countries, self-immolation was rare and most often carried out by males, many of whom had a psychiatric history.
Tibet, Persecution, and Marital Shame: Why People Burn Themselves to Death|Kent Sepkowitz|December 12, 2012|DAILY BEAST
Kent Sepkowitz looks at the centuries-long practice of self-immolation—and why it persists from India to Vietnam to Iran.
Tibet, Persecution, and Marital Shame: Why People Burn Themselves to Death|Kent Sepkowitz|December 12, 2012|DAILY BEAST
Self-immolation has been around for centuries, having been intermittently practiced by protesting monks in the East.
Tibet, Persecution, and Marital Shame: Why People Burn Themselves to Death|Kent Sepkowitz|December 12, 2012|DAILY BEAST

It was as dramatic and cringe-worthy a self-immolation as I've ever seen.
Daily Beast Contributors Weigh In on the GOP Debate||November 12, 2011|DAILY BEAST
Great love is always capable of expressing itself in sacrifice and self-immolation.
Jerry of the Islands|Jack London
The words fell chillingly on the blaze of her self-immolation.
Sanctuary|Edith Wharton
This they evince by self-immolation, after the manner of eastern wives.
The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction, No. 351|Various
Through his mind flashed the call to revolt, the born rebel's impulsive desire for self-immolation.
August Strindberg, the Spirit of Revolt|L. (Lizzy) Lind-af-Hageby
John Crawford was a suicide, and he had chosen a peculiarly American mode of self-immolation.
Shoulder-Straps|Henry Morford

British Dictionary definitions for self-immolation

self-immolation

noun

the act or an instance of setting fire to oneself

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 self-immolation

self-immolation

also self immolation, 1817, from self- + immolation.

self-immolation

noun

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Origin of self-immolation

Examples from the Web for self-immolation

British Dictionary definitions for self-immolation

self-immolation

noun

Word Origin and History for self-immolation

self-immolation