immolate
/'imouleit/
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
- Verb:
- To kill or destroy (a person or thing) as a sacrificial offering, especially in a religious ceremony.
- To offer or give up (something) as a sacrifice, often implying total destruction or renunciation.
Usage and Examples
- Verb:
- In ancient rituals, some cultures would immolate animals to appease their gods.
- The fanatic threatened to immolate himself in a public square as a political protest.
- She felt she had immolated her personal happiness for the sake of her career.
Advanced Usage and Nuances
- The term often carries a formal, literary, or historical tone and is strongly associated with extreme acts of sacrifice, whether literal or figurative.
- It can be used in a figurative sense to describe sacrificing something valuable, such as one's principles, time, or opportunities, often with a sense of waste or destruction.
- He immolated his reputation by defending the unpopular policy.
Variants and Related Words
- Immolation (noun): The act of immolating; a sacrifice.
- The ritual required the immolation of a goat.
- Self-immolation (noun): The act of sacrificing oneself, especially by fire.
- The monk's self-immolation was a shocking act of protest.
Synonyms
- Sacrifice: To offer or give up something valued.
- Offer up: To present something as an offering.
- Slay (in a ritual context): To kill violently.
Antonyms
- Preserve: To maintain or keep safe.
- Protect: To keep from harm.
- Cherish: To hold something dear.
Idioms and Phrases
- While not a common component of idioms, the word itself is used in specific contexts:
- To immolate on the altar of (something): A figurative phrase meaning to sacrifice something for a cause, ideal, or other entity, often with a negative connotation.
- He immolated his integrity on the altar of political ambition.
Verb
- offer as a sacrifice by killing or by giving up to destruction
- The Aztecs immolated human victims
- immolate the valuables at the temple