Meaning & use
auto-da-fé
A public ceremony of the Spanish or Portuguese Inquisition in which sentences on accused heretics were announced, sometimes ending in execution by burning.
See it in a sentence
Thousands gathered in the square to witness the grim auto-da-fé ordered by the Inquisition.
Historians study the auto-da-fé as a brutal display of religious and political power.
A note on using this word
Auto-da-fé is Portuguese for act of faith; it is a historical term now used mainly in discussions of the Inquisition or, loosely, for any harsh public condemnation.
Words with a similar meaning
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