cremate
verb
cre·mate ˈkrē-ˌmāt 
kri-ˈmāt
kri-ˈmāt cremated; cremating
transitive verb
: to subject to cremation
especially : to reduce (a dead body) to mostly tiny bits of bones resembling ash through exposure to flame and intense heat followed by pulverization of bone fragments
cremate a dead body
Example Sentences
He wants to be cremated when he dies.
Recent Examples on the Web Eleven hours after Bianca’s death on Tuesday, Oct. 11, 2016, Larry called the U.S. embassy in Lusaka, according to a summary from the authorities, and asked how to cremate his wife. 
Matt Sullivan, Rolling Stone, 2 July 2022 But the bigger change had been building before then: the choice to routinely cremate over traditional casket burial of years past. Karen Heller, Anchorage Daily News, 19 Apr. 2022 But the bigger change had been building before then: the choice to routinely cremate over traditional casket burial of years past. Washington Post, 19 Apr. 2022 Now the hospital is asking the families to sign a form to cremate the deceased. Arkansas Online, 10 Apr. 2022 The facility asked for the families’ agreement in the past few days to cremate the bodies that were being kept in the hospital morgue, the relatives said. Wenxin Fan, WSJ, 6 Apr. 2022 In the coming days, the family plans to cremate Andrea and the children together. Jason Duaine Hahn, PEOPLE.com, 23 Mar. 2022 The family travelled to Tibet to retrieve and cremate the body in a pyre at base camp. Nick Paumgarten, The New Yorker, 22 Jan. 2022 Last year alone, legislators passed laws focusing on transgender students over their choice of bathrooms and participation in sports, and requiring women to bury or cremate the remains of abortions. New York Times, 18 Feb. 2022 See More
Matt Sullivan, Rolling Stone, 2 July 2022 But the bigger change had been building before then: the choice to routinely cremate over traditional casket burial of years past. Karen Heller, Anchorage Daily News, 19 Apr. 2022 But the bigger change had been building before then: the choice to routinely cremate over traditional casket burial of years past. Washington Post, 19 Apr. 2022 Now the hospital is asking the families to sign a form to cremate the deceased. Arkansas Online, 10 Apr. 2022 The facility asked for the families’ agreement in the past few days to cremate the bodies that were being kept in the hospital morgue, the relatives said. Wenxin Fan, WSJ, 6 Apr. 2022 In the coming days, the family plans to cremate Andrea and the children together. Jason Duaine Hahn, PEOPLE.com, 23 Mar. 2022 The family travelled to Tibet to retrieve and cremate the body in a pyre at base camp. Nick Paumgarten, The New Yorker, 22 Jan. 2022 Last year alone, legislators passed laws focusing on transgender students over their choice of bathrooms and participation in sports, and requiring women to bury or cremate the remains of abortions. New York Times, 18 Feb. 2022 See More Word History
Etymology
Latin crematus, past participle of cremare to burn up, cremate
First Known Use
1874, in the meaning defined above
Kids Definition
cremate
verb
cre·mate ˈkrē-ˌmāt
cremated; cremating
: to burn (as a dead body) to ashes
Medical Definition
cremate
transitive verb
cre·mate ˈkrē-ˌmāt kri-ˈ
kri-ˈ cremated; cremating
: to subject to cremation
especially : to reduce (a dead body) to mostly tiny bits of bones resembling ash through exposure to flame and intense heat followed by pulverization of bone fragments
cremating
verb
as in incinerating
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
- incinerating
- ashing
- immolating
- torching
- kilning
- igniting
- kindling
- lighting
- enkindling
- burning
- inflaming
- charring
- firing
- cooking
- baking
- enflaming
- broiling
- deflagrating
- scorching
- frizzling
- setting off
- scalding
- searing
- rekindling
- relighting
- reigniting
- scathing
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- extinguishing
- stamping (out)
- quenching
- dousing
- dowsing
- snuffing (out)
- putting out