Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • intransitive verb To cause to burn to ashes.
  • intransitive verb To burn completely.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • To burn to ashes.
  • Burnt to ashes.
  • To be reduced to ashes by the burning off of organic matter.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • obsolete Reduced to ashes by burning; thoroughly consumed by fire.
  • transitive verb To burn to ashes; to consume by fire; to burn.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • verb To destroy by burning

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • verb become reduced to ashes
  • verb cause to undergo combustion

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Medieval Latin incinerāre, incinerāt- : Latin in-, causative pref.; see in– + Latin cinis, ciner-, ashes.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Latin incinerātus, perfect participle of incinerō.

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Examples

  • Till the Chair gave out "incinerate," and Brown said he'd be durned

    Complete Poetical Works Bret Harte 1869

  • Neil Craigen, 32, rigged a gas pipe and an electrical plug in a bid to "incinerate" two men because they had been rude to him.

    unknown title 2009

  • Neil Craigen, 32, rigged a gas pipe and an electrical plug in a bid to "incinerate" two men because they had been rude to him.

    unknown title 2009

  • "incinerate" the inventory of junk left over from all those URANIUM FISSION DINOSAURS!

    Propeller Most Popular Stories 2009

  • "incinerate" the inventory of junk left over from all those URANIUM FISSION DINOSAURS!

    Propeller Most Popular Stories 2009

  • "incinerate" the inventory of junk left over from all those URANIUM FISSION DINOSAURS!

    Propeller Most Popular Stories 2009

  • "incinerate" the inventory of junk left over from all those URANIUM FISSION DINOSAURS!

    Propeller Most Popular Stories 2009

  • "incinerate" the inventory of junk left over from all those URANIUM FISSION DINOSAURS!

    Propeller Most Popular Stories 2009

  • Privately, they concede it's ludicrous that God would incinerate those who seek divine truth according to whatever light is available to them; they leave plenty of room for Gandhi and the good Samaritan and the humble tax collector and the strong-willed Roman centurion to achieve "eternal life," whether or not they knew to "confess Jesus of Nazareth as sole lord and savior."

    Rob Asghar: How Gandhi-Hating Kills Christianity Rob Asghar 2011

  • Privately, they concede it's ludicrous that God would incinerate those who seek divine truth according to whatever light is available to them; they leave plenty of room for Gandhi and the good Samaritan and the humble tax collector and the strong-willed Roman centurion to achieve "eternal life," whether or not they knew to "confess Jesus of Nazareth as sole lord and savior."

    Rob Asghar: How Gandhi-Hating Kills Christianity Rob Asghar 2011

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