funeral

1 of 2

adjective

fu·​ner·​al ˈfyün-rəl How to pronounce funeral (audio)
ˈfyü-nə-
1
: of, relating to, or constituting a funeral
2

funeral

2 of 2

noun

1
: the observances held for a dead person usually before burial or cremation
2
chiefly dialectal : a funeral sermon
3
: a funeral procession
4
: an end of something's existence
5
: a matter of concern to one : worry
if you flunk, it's your funeral

Examples of funeral in a Sentence

Adjective a slow and heavy funeral song Noun Only family attended the funeral. His funeral will be held on Friday. His cousin made the funeral arrangements.
Recent Examples on the Web
Adjective
Ukraine’s security services have accused Mamon and his younger brother, Dmytro, who both fled to Russia in 2022, of coordinating a Russian missile strike last October on a cafe hosting a funeral reception in Hroza, their hometown, killing 59 — about one-fifth of the population. Serhii Korolchuk, Washington Post, 21 Feb. 2024 Hundreds gathered in Tulkarem, West Bank, in a funeral procession for three young men who were fatally shot in a night-time raid carried out by the Israeli security services. Keir Simmons, NBC News, 10 Jan. 2024 The monks in charge of the site conducted a funeral mass for him, marking his symbolic death. Lanta Davis and Vince Reighard, Smithsonian Magazine, 15 Mar. 2024 To shed light on that fact and to call for change, dozens of people last month took part in a funeral march in Washington, D.C., held by the African American Tobacco Control Leadership Council. Tribune News Service, The Mercury News, 6 Mar. 2024 Thousands of items are lost across the city's sprawling transport network every month, including all manner of more common things such a funeral urns, a welder's mask and a blender. Patrick Smith, NBC News, 20 Feb. 2024 Since the funeral Mass where mourners said their last goodbyes. Georgea Kovanis, Detroit Free Press, 11 Feb. 2024 The campaign involved sending anonymous and disturbing deliveries to the victims’ home, including a book on surviving the death of a spouse, a bloody pig mask, a fetal pig and a funeral wreath as well as live spiders and cockroaches, according to the charging document. Nicole Acosta, Peoplemag, 12 Jan. 2024 The Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office announced on Facebook there will be a funeral procession for Leonard on Tuesday. Rebekah Riess, CNN, 19 Feb. 2024
Noun
That included flying to Austin for his mother’s funeral between wins over UConn and Kansas City. Shreyas Laddha, Kansas City Star, 12 Apr. 2024 Victim's family speaks out, investigation into shooting ongoing O'Neal's family released a statement on a GoFundMe page set up to help the family with his funeral and potential legal expenses. Gabe Hauari, USA TODAY, 11 Apr. 2024 Alice Claus and her sister, Emily, traveled to Budapest for their uncle's funeral in June 2021. Suzanne Nuyen, NPR, 11 Apr. 2024 Two decades later the friends – minus Daan, who is locked up in the local asylum – gather in the village again after Daan’s brother Ben returns for his father’s funeral. Leo Barraclough, Variety, 10 Apr. 2024 The fun-loving Corcoran (who has been known to show her personality on social media, from dressing up as Barbie and Martha Stewart to hosting a mock funeral for her birthday) has found her match in Higgins, who attends to her comedic whims — and has even joined in on them. Makena Gera, Peoplemag, 8 Apr. 2024 In Gaza, thousands of families have not been able to hold funerals either; instead, many are placed in mass graves. Shira Rubin, Washington Post, 7 Apr. 2024 So does his friend Marty Funkhouser (Bob Einstein), who would be within his rights to eternally expunge Larry, simply for the time, at Marty’s father’s funeral, that Larry removed from the coffin a golf club he was convinced belonged to him. Wesley Morris Ron Butler Emma Kehlbeck Ted Blaisdell, New York Times, 5 Apr. 2024 Following his death, mourners gathered in Rafah for Abu Taha’s funeral. Astha Rajvanshi, TIME, 2 Apr. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'funeral.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Adjective

Middle English, from Late Latin funeralis, from Latin funer-, funus funeral (noun)

Noun

Middle English funerelles (plural), from Middle French funerailles (plural), from Medieval Latin funeralia (plural), from Late Latin, neuter plural of funeralis, adjective

First Known Use

Adjective

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun

circa 1513, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of funeral was in the 15th century

Dictionary Entries Near funeral

Cite this Entry

“Funeral.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/funeral. Accessed 23 Apr. 2024.

Kids Definition

funeral

noun
fu·​ner·​al
ˈfyün-(ə-)rəl
: the ceremonies held for a dead person (as before burial)
funeral adjective

More from Merriam-Webster on funeral

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