1
as in funeral
the act or ceremony of putting a dead body in its final resting place the children wanted to give the dead bird a proper burial in the backyard

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

2
as in tomb
a final resting place for a dead person archaeologically significant artifacts, such as stone tools, have been discovered in Neanderthal burials

Synonyms & Similar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of burial Applications for headstones, markers, and burial benefits processing will continue. David Lightman, Sacbee.com, 29 Sep. 2025 Images of mass burials on Hart Island near the Bronx also circulated widely during 2020 and 2021. Thomas Elias, Mercury News, 27 Sep. 2025 Found throughout Europe, Asia, and parts of Africa, dolmens are prehistoric megalithic stone structures, usually built as tombs or burial sites. Maria Mocerino, Interesting Engineering, 27 Sep. 2025 Martínez believes Taposiris Magna is a key location in relation to Cleopatra’s burial, although many archaeologists disagree with her hypothesis. Ashley Strickland, CNN Money, 26 Sep. 2025 See All Example Sentences for burial
Recent Examples of Synonyms for burial
Noun
  • The presiding minister elected not to deliver a funeral sermon; dirt was shoveled on top of the mahogany box only three minutes after the service began.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 8 Oct. 2025
  • In honor of Franklin’s service and sacrifice, Sikeston Mayor Greg Turnbow ordered all flags within the city to be flown at half-staff until the conclusion of Franklin’s funeral.
    Emma Bussey, FOXNews.com, 7 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • Firemen in their command center calm the fears of the locals who call in, law enforcement tracks down tomb robbers, while in the port of Torre Annunziata, Syrian tankers unload Ukrainian grain.
    Andreas Wiseman, Deadline, 3 Oct. 2025
  • Research on ancient Egypt is largely biased toward the elite, whose spectacular tombs, monuments, and artifacts have been the dominant focus.
    Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 1 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • Once the coffin was brought into the chapel with an honor guard, the archbishop blessed their remains, and each pallbearer was given a box to carry to the burial vault for interment.
    Andrea Margolis, FOXNews.com, 5 Oct. 2025
  • Romer covers a lot — the first baseball game in Japan, how the San Francisco Seals figured into all of this, World War II, Japanese interment camps, the Giants, and more.
    Randy Myers, Mercury News, 30 Sep. 2025
Noun
  • Some old stories, like bodies in Wisconsin graves, really don’t need to be dug up.
    Mathew Rodriguez, Them., 7 Oct. 2025
  • Gein only admitted to the killing of two women, Worden and Mary Hogan, and stealing corpses from graves.
    Lea Veloso, StyleCaster, 6 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • Just as fascinating are Poe’s burial and his reburial 26 years later, an exhumation that adds to his mystique, even if the raw particulars of that reburial do nothing to justify the urban legend of his living entombment.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 8 Oct. 2025
  • And so, with no water left at the surface, major subduction zones would grind to a halt, preventing the entombment of carbon dioxide.
    Quanta Magazine, Quanta Magazine, 15 Sep. 2025
Noun
  • Over time, the library buildings expanded to encompass the cemetery, with the Crusade-era gravestones embedded in the flagstones.
    Ryan Byrnes, Literary Hub, 7 Oct. 2025
  • Gein’s headstone was never returned to the cemetery.
    Aya Al-Hakim, PEOPLE, 6 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • Researchers say the burying of the hoard is not a mystery, but why the community never came back for their treasured items is another thing entirely.
    Irene Wright, Miami Herald, 24 Sep. 2025

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Burial.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/burial. Accessed 9 Oct. 2025.

More from Merriam-Webster on burial

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!