departed 1 of 2

Definition of departednext

departed

2 of 2

verb

past tense of depart
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2

Synonym Chooser

How does the adjective departed contrast with its synonyms?

Some common synonyms of departed are dead, deceased, defunct, and late. While all these words mean "devoid of life," departed is used usually as a euphemism.

our departed sister

When is dead a more appropriate choice than departed?

While in some cases nearly identical to departed, dead applies literally to what is deprived of vital force but is used figuratively of anything that has lost any attribute (such as energy, activity, radiance) suggesting life.

a dead, listless performance

How does the word deceased relate to other synonyms for departed?

Deceased, departed, and late apply to persons who have died recently. Deceased is the preferred term in legal use.

the estate of the deceased

When might defunct be a better fit than departed?

The words defunct and departed are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, defunct stresses cessation of active existence or operation.

a defunct television series

In what contexts can late take the place of departed?

In some situations, the words late and departed are roughly equivalent. However, late is used especially with reference to a person in a specific relation or status.

the company's late president

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 departed
Adjective
That mirrors the likely total awaiting the 10 Pac-12 legacy schools now scattered across the Big 12, Big Ten and ACC. Of the departed contingent, only Arizona is a lock to make the NCAA Tournament field as an at-large team. Jon Wilner, San Diego Union-Tribune, 9 Feb. 2026 Pritchard, who’d notched three straight 20-point outings since replacing the departed Anfernee Simons as Boston’s second-unit quarterback, had six points on 2-of-9 shooting and was a minus-27. Zack Cox, Boston Herald, 8 Feb. 2026
Verb
During his lone season at Chelsea, Pochettino led a rebuilding, inexperienced squad to a sixth-place finish in the Premier League after a second-half revival but still departed after less than a year. Andy Yamashita, The Orlando Sentinel, 5 June 2026 The first mission, carrying Starlink batch 17-47 on the Falcon 9 booster B1088, departed from Space Launch Complex 4 East at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. Robert Z. Pearlman, Space.com, 4 June 2026 See All Example Sentences for departed
Recent Examples of Synonyms for departed
Adjective
  • Like Temminck’s pangolin or coequal branches of government, retirement is in danger of going extinct.
    Joshua Rivera, Vanity Fair, 8 June 2026
  • Sea stars almost went extinct along the West Coast a decade ago.
    Casey Parks, Washington Post, 6 June 2026
Adjective
  • Ten years after the mass shooting, Central Florida is uniting to remember the fallen angels who died that night while showing that love is stronger than hate.
    Patrick Connolly, The Orlando Sentinel, 11 June 2026
  • Trees planted too close to power lines may result in outages or safety hazards from fallen branches.
    Madeline Buiano, Martha Stewart, 10 June 2026
Verb
  • Police confirmed that Weston exited a train at Yamashina station in Kyoto on May 29.
    David Chiu, PEOPLE, 6 June 2026
  • Brown exited after a season-high 87 pitches in his sixth start since joining Chicago's rotation on May 8.
    CBS News, CBS News, 6 June 2026
Verb
  • Refracted through the lens of the 2018 killing of one of Clemmons’s few Black peers in tony Swarthmore public schools, the essay reflects on the consequences of systemic disinvestment in Chester, the nearby majority-Black city where Robbie was born, taught, and died.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 11 June 2026
  • The medical examiner determined Leyden died from blunt force trauma to the head and other physical injuries.
    Katie Houlis, CBS News, 11 June 2026
Adjective
  • Pruner is an industry veteran locally, having been part of the inaugural team at Empress Tavern and worked at Obo’, Mulvaney’s B&L and the now-defunct Woodlake Tavern, among other places.
    Sean Timberlake, Sacbee.com, 9 June 2026
  • The Justice Department subsequently appealed an earlier order by Eaton to make all businesses that paid the now-defunct import taxes eligible for refunds plus interest.
    Mae Anderson, Fortune, 9 June 2026
Adjective
  • For a scene in the season’s second episode, for example, Phillips looked at a cut and felt a scene with Dexter talking to his deceased father wasn’t landing.
    Jim Hemphill, IndieWire, 9 June 2026
  • In last year's report, the program's trustees projected that the Old-Age and Survivors Insurance fund, which pays benefits to retirees and survivors of deceased workers, would be depleted in 2033.
    Aimee Picchi, CBS News, 9 June 2026
Verb
  • As many agencies have limited how noncitizens can qualify for programs — like housing subsidies or commercial trucking licenses — the SBA moved to do the same.
    Alina Selyukh, NPR, 12 June 2026
  • Originally from Jackson, Mississippi, the cultural architect moved to Chicago to attend graduate school and receive a degree in computational sociology.
    Britt Julious, Chicago Tribune, 12 June 2026
Verb
  • Teens killed in another recent fire Some of the same first responders were at the scene in nearby Cortland Manor where teen siblings perished in an electrical fire on May 26.
    Tony Aiello, CBS News, 4 June 2026
  • Still, 49 perished in the shooting, the country’s deadliest mass shooting until 2017 when that death toll was surpassed by a mass shooting at a concert in Las Vegas that killed 60.
    Silas Morgan, The Orlando Sentinel, 23 May 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Departed.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/departed. Accessed 13 Jun. 2026.

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