immolating

Setting ablaze ceremonially

Immolating is the present participle of immolate, meaning to kill as a sacrifice or to destroy by fire.

The word carries ceremonial weight—ancient priests immolated animals to appease gods.

Self-immolation, setting oneself on fire as protest, became a powerful image of political resistance in the twentieth century: The monk immolating himself shocked the world.

Figuratively, to immolate is to sacrifice something valued: He immolated his career for the cause.

sacrificial

burning

Combustion in progress

pyre · holocaust · sacred · ceremonial · deity · worship · temple · oblation · consecration · victim

self-destruction

martyrdom

Suffering for conviction

protest · desperation · political · demonstration · monk · gasoline · flames · defiance · statement · extreme

figurative

destroying

Causing complete ruin

reputation · relationships · ego · pride · ambition · sabotaging · annihilating · obliterating · surrendering · relinquishing

Opposites
sacrifice/destruction

immolatingsaving

Reserving for future use

rescuing · preserving · sparing · protecting · shielding

fire/combustion state

immolatingextinguishing

Causing to stop burning

quenching · dousing · smothering · putting out · snuffing out

sacrifice/offering

immolatingsparing

Using resources minimally

redeeming · ransoming · withholding · reclaiming · reprieving

Family

immolation

Familiarity
Top 500,000
Profile
Used worldwide · Timeless · Negative · Everyday, not technical · Rated R