cremate
UK /kɹɪˈmeɪt/ · US /ˈkɹimeɪt/ verb
Forms cremates cremating cremated
- verb (transitive) To burn something to ashes.
- verb (transitive) To incinerate a dead body (as an alternative to burial). “I want to be cremated when I die.”
Synonyms
burn away cinder burn burn down burn up burn to a crisp char up combure combust forburn forsweal incinerate scathe torch
Etymology
First attested in 1889; borrowed from Latin cremātus, perfect passive participle of cremō (“to burn to ashes; to cremate”), see -ate (verb-forming suffix).
Webster’s 1913
- verb To burn; to reduce to ashes by the action of fire, either directly or in an oven or retort; to incremate or incinerate; as, to cremate a corpse, instead of burying it.
Etymology [L. crematus, p. p. of cremare to burn; cf. Skr. cr to cook.]
Sources: Wiktionary · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “cremate”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details