demise

noun

de·mise | \ di-ˈmīz

Definition of demise

(Entry 1 of 2)

1a : death

b : a cessation of existence or activity

c : a loss of position or status

2 : the conveyance of an estate

3 : transfer of the sovereignty to a successor

demise

verb

demised; demising

Definition of demise (Entry 2 of 2)

transitive verb

1 : to convey by will or lease demise an estate

2 : to transmit by succession or inheritance

3 obsolete : convey, give

intransitive verb

1 : die, decease

2 : to pass by descent or bequest the property has demised to the king's heirs

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Examples of demise in a Sentence

Noun

… invited visitors to play a game in which points are awarded to those who predict the demise of yet another overhyped dot-com. — Jeff Goodell, Rolling Stone, 14 Sept. 2000 This elegant little book is essential reading for anyone interested in the demise, the terminal silliness, of our culture. — John Irving, New York Times Book Review, 6 Apr. 1997 Like books, board games appear headed for imminent demise at the hands of cathode-ray terminals. — Will Manley, Booklist, 1 Mar. 1995 She had no property at the time of her demise. The musician met an untimely demise. We have not had truly local news coverage since the town newspaper's demise three years ago. Losing this game will mean the team's demise.

Verb

our much beloved, recently demised leader

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

It's been 10 years since Jackson died and his legacy, reinvigorated in the wake of his demise, is once again being challenged as fans and critics alike grapple with conflicting feelings about the late superstar. — Maria Puente, USA TODAY, "We may never resolve our conflicted feelings about Michael Jackson," 24 June 2019 George read one of the essays on the Times Web site, trying hard to summon the reality of his own demise. — Emma Cline, The New Yorker, "Son of Friedman," 24 June 2019 And humans could trigger their own demise: Someone could engineer a particularly bad germ. — Anchorage Daily News, "What the Space Age taught us: Earth is the best of all possible worlds," 23 June 2019 Federal regulators proposed easing a rule that required big banks to plan annually for their own demise, the latest move by regulators under President Trump to loosen controls put in place after the financial crisis. — Liz Hoffman, WSJ, "Fed Moves to Ease Living Wills, Allowing Large Banks to File Wind-Down Plans Less Frequently," 8 Apr. 2019 Besides a brief remark of her demise during the Season 8 premiere that Danny Reagan's (Donnie Wahlberg) wife, played by Amy Carlson, had died in a helicopter accident, there was no warning—and no proper goodbye. — Jennifer Aldrich, Country Living, "'Blue Bloods' Reveals Linda Reagan Returned to Give Danny an Important Message," 1 Mar. 2019 Luckily, in honor of its impending demise, Urban Decay is having a major sale today — it's marked down to $27 from its usual $54. — Marci Robin, Allure, "Urban Decay Is Discontinuing the Original Naked Palette, and I'm Not Crying, You're Crying," 23 Aug. 2018 Catalans and Corruption But the seeds of his demise were there from the start. — Fortune, "Spain's Prime Minister Was Just Ousted, Fueling Even More Uncertainty in Europe," 1 June 2018 Catalans and Corruption But the seeds of his demise were there from the start. — Charles Penty, Bloomberg.com, "Rajoy Set to Fall, Paying Price for Years of Corruption in Spain," 1 June 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'demise.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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Last Updated

18 Jul 2019

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The first known use of demise was in the 15th century

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More Definitions for demise

demise

noun

English Language Learners Definition of demise

formal

: an end of life

: the end of something that is thought of as being like a death

See the full definition for demise in the English Language Learners Dictionary

demise

noun

de·mise | \ di-ˈmīz

Kids Definition of demise

1 : death sense 1 And often the court waited until the demise of two or three potters before searching out their replacements.— Linda Sue Park, A Single Shard

2 : an ending of existence or activity the demise of a newspaper