burials

plural of burial
1
as in funerals
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

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

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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 burials Surnames like McKenzie, Adams and Scribner make frequent appearances on headstones at the roughly 600-grave cemetery, which is still allows burials of descendants of the town or people who live nearby. Graham Womack, Sacbee.com, 6 Sep. 2026 Owing to constant construction noise, daily burials at the cemetery would no longer take place in silence. Antonia Hitchens, New Yorker, 4 Sep. 2026 Mass burials of unidentified bodies in Kathmandu In Kathmandu, police worked in heavy rain on Tuesday to bury dozens of bodies in multiple trenches next to a forested area. Shristi Kafle, Los Angeles Times, 1 Sep. 2026 Preliminary explorations indicate these burials were looted in antiquity; passages linking them are thought to have been made by ancient robbers moving between the tombs. Anne Doran, ARTnews.com, 31 Aug. 2026 Ruby Chaudhary, who has two missing relatives, said the burials should not proceed without families’ consent. ABC News, 30 Aug. 2026 Authorities in Nepal have begun mass burials of hundreds of unidentified victims whose bodies had started to decompose. James Powel, USA Today, 30 Aug. 2026 According to a 2016 Courier Journal report, Greenwood Cemetery largely closed to new burials in 1993 after fraudulent practices came to light by the previous owner, Louisville Crematories and Cemeteries, Inc. Caroline Neal, Louisville Courier Journal, 28 Aug. 2026 The burial ground was likely Protestant due to a complete absence of devotional items, such as crosses and medals characteristic of Catholic burials. Katie Hunt, CNN Money, 21 Aug. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for burials
Noun
  • Since then, the 65-year-old has only made public appearances at family events, including his parents' funerals and, most recently, the funeral of Britain's Duchess of Kent, Katharine, in September.
    Anthony Robledo, USA Today, 30 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • Preliminary explorations indicate these burials were looted in antiquity; passages linking them are thought to have been made by ancient robbers moving between the tombs.
    Anne Doran, ARTnews.com, 31 Aug. 2026
  • In July 2025, utility workers excavating trenches to expand an underground gas network in Peru's capital unearthed two pre-Incan tombs that were over 1,000 years old.
    CBS News, CBS News, 19 Aug. 2026
Noun
  • But the situation is far more tragic, with videos on social media showing dozens of coffins lined up beside mass graves, awaiting burial before the bodies decompose in the heat.
    ABC News, ABC News, 3 Sep. 2026
  • Authorities in Nepal have been burying bodies in temporary graves until they can be identified.
    Shristi Kafle, Los Angeles Times, 1 Sep. 2026
Noun
  • Ewa Mroczkowska’s production design also turns dewy embankments, decadent interiors, and sunrises over cemeteries into visions of storybook-like decay.
    Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 5 Sep. 2026
  • The small-dog park remained on top of the 100 African graves — though pets are prohibited from frolicking in the island’s other cemeteries.
    Oliver Wu, Rolling Stone, 1 Sep. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Burials.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/burials. Accessed 16 Sep. 2026.

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