immolation
immolation — noun
1. the act of causing death or destruction through fire, especially when done as a
the act of causing death or destruction through fire, especially when done as a form of sacrifice or political protest
A Buddhist monk carried out a public immolation in the capital to protest government policies.
public immolation — protest context
The ancient text describes the ritual immolation of goats during the harvest festival.
ritual immolation of + animal — sacrifice context
Rachid's documentary explored the history of self-immolation as a form of nonviolent resistance.
Residents watched in horror as the militia began the immolation of their homes.
Tamás could not believe the cult leader demanded the immolation of his own followers.
- sacrifice
broader term — can involve any valued object or life given up, not necessarily by fire or in a ritual
- burning
more general and informal — can refer to any fire-based destruction (a letter, a pile of leaves), without the connotation of ritual or protest
- holocaust
only used for mass, large-scale destruction by fire — carries extreme emotional weight, especially tied to the Nazi genocide
文法句型
the immolation of + noun
self-immolation
用法筆記
Always refers to death or destruction specifically by burning — it is not a synonym for sacrifice in general. The compound self-immolation is far more common in modern journalism than the bare noun.