Home › Words › C › crematecremate/ˈkɹimeɪt/cremate means to burn something to ashes.cremate is pronounced /ˈkɹimeɪt/.EtymologyFirst attested in 1889; borrowed from Latin cremātus, perfect passive participle of cremō (“to burn to ashes; to cremate”), see -ate (verb-forming suffix).verbTo burn something to ashes.To incinerate a dead body (as an alternative to burial).e.g.“I want to be cremated when I die.”Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).Words closest in meaningBy meaning, not spelling — each word's AI semantic fingerprint, nearest first.incremate 81% match — To cremate. vs cremate →cremator 74% match — One who, or that which, cremates or consumes to ashes. vs cremate →incinerate 73% match — To destroy by burning. vs cremate →cremation 70% match — A burning; especially the act or practice of cremating the dead, burning a corpse. vs cremate →cineration 68% match — The reducing of anything to ashes by combustion; incineration. vs cremate →crematorium 67% match — A place where the bodies of dead people are cremated. vs cremate →cremains 66% match — Cremated remains of a deceased person. vs cremate →crematory 65% match — Pertaining to the act of cremating bodies. vs cremate →