MEANING
To kill or destroy, especially by burning, often in a sacrificial act.
Use it for
A killing framed as sacrifice; a body destroyed by fire; ritualized violenceUse the sacrificial implication only when the scene supplies intent.
Words that belong together
- immolate a victim
- immolated remains
- sacrificial immolation
On the page
The cult intended to immolate its captive at dawn.
The archive recorded prisoners immolated in the courtyard.
The fictional creature immolated its own shell before emerging from the ash.
Nearby words
Related words
Word forms
- Base
- immolate / immolates
- Past tense
- immolated
- Past participle
- immolated
- Present participle
- immolating
Full tense & aspect guide
- Present
- immolate / immolates
- Present continuous
- am/is/are immolating
- Present perfect
- have/has immolated
- Present perfect continuous
- have/has been immolating
- Past
- immolated
- Past continuous
- was/were immolating
- Past perfect
- had immolated
- Past perfect continuous
- had been immolating
- Future
- will immolate / immolates
- Future continuous
- will be immolating
- Future perfect
- will have immolated
- Future perfect continuous
- will have been immolating
Choose the auxiliary that agrees with your subject. These are constructions of one word, not separate entries.
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Usage notes
Primary category: horror. Formal and forceful; burning is typical rather than the sole possible sense. Not any accidental singeing or a harmless offering. Verb [base, third-person present, past, past participle, -ing]: immolate, immolates, immolated, immolated, immolating. Derived/related family (not inflections): immolation (noun).
Practice this word in a sentenceYour margin notes
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