auto-da-fé

American  

[aw-toh-duh-fey] / ˌɔ toʊ dəˈfeɪ /

noun

plural

autos-da-fé

1. the public declaration of the judgment passed on persons tried in the courts of the Spanish Inquisition, followed by the execution by the civil authorities of the sentences imposed, especially the burning of condemned heretics at the stake.

---

auto-da-fé British  

/ ˌɔːtəʊdəˈfeɪ /

noun

1. history a ceremony of the Spanish Inquisition including the pronouncement and execution of sentences passed on sinners or heretics

2. the burning to death of people condemned as heretics by the Inquisition

---

Etymology

Origin of auto-da-fé

1715–25; < Portuguese: act of the faith

Example Sentences

An acrobatic jester figure, his face painted skull-white, restores to the auto-da-fé scene some of its intended spookiness.

From New York Times • Mar. 1, 2022

When orchestra rehearsals started Feb. 14, Nézet-Séguin shortened a 16th note here, lengthened an eighth note there as he sang the vocals — including the Celestial Voice ending the auto-da-fé.

From Seattle Times • Feb. 28, 2022

After characterizing it as a 21st-century auto-da-fé on Twitter, op-ed writer Bari Weiss first argued it was evidence of an out of control PC culture on campus.

From The Guardian • Mar. 18, 2018

The Middle East has seen a collective auto-da-fé, the self-immolation of society after society, with no end in sight.

From Slate • Nov. 11, 2016

It is certainly a dramatic, auto-da-fé and a most obliging act, considered with reference to one's possible enemies.

From Punchinello, Volume 2, No. 34, November 19, 1870 by Various