self-immolation
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of self-immolation
First recorded in 1810–20
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 closest parallel — absent that above-referenced self-immolation — was in 1998.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 14, 2026
All this comes on the heels of some questionable behavior and ill-advised alliances, among them: the divorce from Sarah “Fergie” Ferguson, hanging around with Jeffrey Epstein, and the self-immolation by TV interview in 2019.
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 2, 2025
His death, captured in an iconic photo by American photographer Malcolm Browne, drew global attention to Vietnam — and to political self-immolation.
From Salon • May 4, 2024
At the site of his self-immolation, her comments resonated with the visiting Chinese: “The predicament of a country can only be resolved by the people of that country themselves.”
From New York Times • Jan. 19, 2024
The ancient German custom approved of the self-immolation of a widow at her husband's death, but did not require it.
From Folkways A Study of the Sociological Importance of Usages, Manners, Customs, Mores, and Morals by Sumner, William Graham
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.
