auto-da-fé

[ aw-toh-duh-fey ]

noun

, plural au·tos-da-fé.

1. the public declaration of the judgment passed on persons tried in the courts of the Spanish Inquisition, followed by the execution by the civil authorities of the sentences imposed, especially the burning of condemned heretics at the stake.

auto-da-fé

/ ˌɔːtəʊdəˈfeɪ /

noun

1. history a ceremony of the Spanish Inquisition including the pronouncement and execution of sentences passed on sinners or heretics
2. the burning to death of people condemned as heretics by the Inquisition

Word History and Origins

Origin of auto-da-fé¹

1715–25; < Portuguese: act of the faith

Word History and Origins

Origin of auto-da-fé¹

C18: from Portuguese, literally: act of the faith

Example Sentences

Lighting things on fire, so to speak, is Murdoch’s way of reasserting control—and I would not be surprised to learn that the 92-year-old mogul deemed it a very good time to send a message about who is still in charge at Fox Corp by engaging in a round of auto-da-fe.

From Slate

During World War I, the constitutional amendment swept through the states and Congress like a purging auto-da-fe.

From Los Angeles Times

Roth, by then in exile in Paris, called the bonfires an “auto-da-fé of the mind.”

From New York Times

In preparation for the interview, Ginzburg had read Elias Canetti’s classic work Auto-da-Fé, written eight years before Bobby was born.

From Literature

An acrobatic jester figure, his face painted skull-white, restores to the auto-da-fé scene some of its intended spookiness.

From New York Times