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
Scholars of the history of self-immolation typically date the phenomenon to antiquity, to early Christian martyrdoms, and particularly to the Hindu practice of sati.
From Salon ● May 4, 2024
As Judith, the soprano Ausrine Stundyte made a bizarre treatment of the character — constantly on the verge of self-immolation — at least compelling, with a fierce humanity largely absent in the staging.
From New York Times ● Jul. 27, 2022
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 William Graham Sumner
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.
