Self-immolation
noun ·Uncommon ·College level
Definitions
- 1 The act of setting oneself on fire, especially as a form of protest. countable, uncountable
"The act of self-immolation The sweeping wave of self-immolation began in 2009 in the aftermath of the 2008 nationwide uprisings against China. Since then, Tibet has witnessed at least 152 self-immolations. Of these self-immolators,¹ 126 were men and 26 women. The burning flame has consumed 130 lives. Nearly a third of the Tibetans who resorted to self-immolation protest were monks and nuns.² The rest were laypeople from different regions and from all walks of life: students, farmers, teachers, young parents, grandparents and mothers of several children."
- 2 The act of self-sacrificing oneself, in any manner of ways. countable, figuratively, uncountable
Example
More examples"The act of self-immolation The sweeping wave of self-immolation began in 2009 in the aftermath of the 2008 nationwide uprisings against China. Since then, Tibet has witnessed at least 152 self-immolations. Of these self-immolators,¹ 126 were men and 26 women. The burning flame has consumed 130 lives. Nearly a third of the Tibetans who resorted to self-immolation protest were monks and nuns.² The rest were laypeople from different regions and from all walks of life: students, farmers, teachers, young parents, grandparents and mothers of several children."
Etymology
From self- + immolation.
More for "self-immolation"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.