Definitions

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun Same as auto de fe.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun A judgment of the Inquisition in Spain and Portugal condemning or acquitting persons accused of religious offenses.
  • noun An execution of such sentence, by the civil power, esp. the burning of a heretic. It was usually held on Sunday, and was made a great public solemnity by impressive forms and ceremonies.
  • noun A session of the court of Inquisition.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun Alternative form of auto da fe.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun the burning to death of heretics (as during the Spanish Inquisition)

Etymologies

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Examples

  • The preacher admits that he broke his promise back in September to foreswear such a literary auto-da-fe.

    John Feffer: The Geopolitics of Stupidity John Feffer 2011

  • Conceived by Bernstein and writer Lillian Hellman as a response to the era's anti-communism, the musical borrows from Voltaire's narrative, which flings a naive hero, Candide, across continents and into ghastly tragedies - wars, an earthquake, mass rape, an auto-da-fe - while he clings to his belief that he lives in "the best of all possible worlds."

    An acclaimed director leaps into the musical world with 'Candide' Celia Wren 2010

  • Holbrooke was game, but if you ever dreamed of seeing a government official confronted with the undeniable, the unexplainable and the inescapable -- well this was such a public auto-da-fe.

    Stanton Peele: The Incredible Rachelness of Maddow 2010

  • Holbrooke was game, but if you ever dreamed of seeing a government official confronted with the undeniable, the unexplainable and the inescapable -- well this was such a public auto-da-fe.

    Stanton Peele: The Incredible Rachelness of Maddow 2010

  • DiaryLand contact random entry other diaries: realitykills abetterme33 lust - painted-eyes cached auto-da-fe minstrelite fightfeedfuk

    the picture. 1 breathelilac 2009

  • DiaryLand contact random entry other diaries: realitykills abetterme33 lust - painted-eyes cached auto-da-fe minstrelite fightfeedfuk

    lonely. breathelilac 2009

  • DiaryLand contact random entry other diaries: realitykills abetterme33 lust - painted-eyes cached auto-da-fe minstrelite fightfeedfuk

    imagine. breathelilac 2009

  • DiaryLand contact random entry other diaries: realitykills abetterme33 lust - painted-eyes cached auto-da-fe minstrelite fightfeedfuk

    the best night of my life. breathelilac 2009

  • DiaryLand contact random entry other diaries: realitykills abetterme33 lust - painted-eyes cached auto-da-fe minstrelite fightfeedfuk

    the picture. 2 breathelilac 2009

  • Given the serial sexual shenanigans of the then Tory administration along with its alleged animus against lone parents, the party set itself up for the media auto-da-fe which then ensued.

    On Thursday, the Legg report will be published along with... 2008

Comments

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  • "'Though there are no Auto-da-Fe's in Lima now,' said one of the company to another; 'I fear our sailor friend runs risks of the archiepiscopacy.'"

    - Melville, Moby-Dick, ch. 54

    July 25, 2008