funeral
Americannoun
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the ceremonies for a dead person prior to burial or cremation; obsequies.
-
a funeral procession.
adjective
idioms
noun
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a ceremony at which a dead person is buried or cremated
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( as modifier )
a funeral service
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a procession of people escorting a corpse to burial
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informal worry; concern; affair
that's your funeral
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of funeral
1350–1400; Middle English (adj.) < Medieval Latin fūnerālis, equivalent to Latin fūner-, stem of fūnus funeral rites + -ālis -al 1; (noun), from early 16th cent., probably < Middle French funerailles < Medieval Latin fūnerālia, neuter plural of fūnerālis
Explanation
A funeral is a ceremony to bury or cremate the dead. If you go to a funeral, wear black and try not to seem like you're having fun. Funeral comes from the Latin root fūnus, for "dead body," and so a funeral is the ritual that surrounds taking care of a dead body. Depending on the dead person's beliefs, there will often be a representative of a religion there to honor them in a traditional way. Sometimes we use funeral for dead things other than dead people. If you just gave a really bad party, you could call it a funeral for your social life.
Vocabulary lists containing funeral
Beowulf vocabulary
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King Tut Day
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Unit 10
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
But as I talked to mourners at Sayre’s funeral at his home parish of St. Cecilia Church in Tustin, Calif., on Monday, I realized that his fight for justice manifested in many other ways.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 17, 2026
Nor could the money necessarily be used for funeral expenses.
From MarketWatch • Jun. 17, 2026
He was given a public funeral in Tehran's Tajrish Square.
From Barron's • Jun. 15, 2026
The 19-year-old from Wycombe, who spoke at Adam's funeral, says his death took a "big toll" on his mental health but it would "mean the world" if it led to change.
From BBC • Jun. 10, 2026
Mama could take a little bit of something like that and make it sound like the funeral had already started.
From "Summer of the Monkeys" by Wilson Rawls
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
