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holocaust
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As a noun, holocaust means an offering or sacrifice to a deity that is completely burned to ashes. As a verb, it means sacrifice (chiefly an animal) to be completely burned.
Meanings of holocaust
9 meaningsnoun
religionAn offering or sacrifice to a deity that is completely burned to ashes.
(religion, also figuratively) A complete or large offering or sacrifice.
Complete destruction by fire; also, the thing so destroyed.
(figuratively) Extensive destruction of a group of animals or (especially) people; a large-scale massacre or slaughter.
“a nuclear holocaust”
(figuratively) Alternative letter-case form of Holocaust ("the systematic mass murder (democide or genocide) of Jews (and, more broadly, of disabled people, homosexuals, Romanis, Slavs, and others) perpetrated by Nazi Germany shortly before and during World War II"); hence, the state-sponsored mass murder of a particular group of people in society.
An act of mass destruction and loss of life (especially in war or by fire)
“a nuclear holocaust”
verb
religionalso figurativelyTo sacrifice (chiefly an animal) to be completely burned.
To destroy (something) completely, especially by fire.
To subject (a group of people) to a holocaust (mass annihilation); to destroy en masse.
Meanings from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0) and Open English WordNet (CC BY 4.0).