obituary

noun

obit·​u·​ary ə-ˈbi-chə-ˌwer-ē  ō- 

-ˈbi-chə-rē

plural obituaries

: a notice of a person's death usually with a short biographical account

obituarist

ə-ˈbi-chə-ˌwər-ist

ō- 

-ˈbi-chə-rist

noun

obituary adjective

Synonyms

• necrology
• obit

Examples of obituary in a Sentence

I read her obituary in the newspaper.

several obituaries for Herman Melville portrayed him as an obscure, largely forgotten author

Recent Examples on the Web

What's the first line of Joe Biden's obituary At the moment? —Philip Elliott, Time, 20 May 2025

According to his obituary, Baker was married for 11 years but did not have children. —Ashley Hume, FOXNews.com, 15 May 2025

The online obituaries on Mildred and Louis’ Find A Grave pages were quickly edited to tie them to their son, the new Catholic leader. —Olivia Stevens, Chicago Tribune, 12 May 2025

For the past two days following the Celtics’ Game 2 loss, the basketball world had prewritten the defending champion’s obituary. —Fiifi Frimpong, New York Daily News, 11 May 2025

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from New Latin obituārium, noun derivative of Medieval Latin obituārius "of death, recording records or dates of death," from Latin obitu-, stem of obitus "death" + -ārius -ary entry 2 — more at obit

First Known Use

1703, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for obituary

• accretionary
• apothecary
• bicentenary
• certiorari
• concessionary
• concretionary
• confectionary
• confectionery
• constabulary
• contemporary
• deflationary
• depositary

Kids Definition

obituary

noun

obit·​u·​ary ə-ˈbich-ə-ˌwer-ē 

plural obituaries

: a notice of a person's death (as in a newspaper)

obituary adjective