passed away 1 of 2

adjective

as in gone

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passed away

2 of 2

verb

past tense of pass away
as in died
to stop living the old woman passed away quietly

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 passed away
Verb
Leading man Cory Monteith died due to an accidental overdose in 2013, and costar Naya Rivera passed away in 2020 in an accidental drowning while on a boat excursion with her young son. — Hannah Dailey, Billboard, 24 Sep. 2026 Presley passed away at a rehab facility in Santa Monica, Calif. — Lizzie Lanuza, StyleCaster, 23 Sep. 2026 Aretha Franklin The Queen of Soul passed away in 2018 at the age of 76, leaving behind an impressive legacy that few stars could replicate. — Brianna Zigler, Entertainment Weekly, 23 Sep. 2026 But recounting each group’s beginning and remembering many wonderful friends who have passed away were also important to those gathered. — Tom Strong, Chicago Tribune, 20 Sep. 2026 The memorial service for a Georgia College & State University women's soccer player who passed away after a battle with cancer will take place in her hometown of Loganville on Friday. — Cbs News Atlanta Digital Team, CBS News, 17 Sep. 2026 The purple walls are dotted with photos of the homegrown superstar, who passed away ten years ago this year. — David Farley, Bon Appetit Magazine, 15 Sep. 2026 Allen Thomas — both of whom deployed with him to Afghanistan, passed away before him. — Robert McGreevy , Jennifer Griffin, FOXNews.com, 15 Sep. 2026 Legendary costume designer Bob Mackie passed away at age 87 on September 14, 2026. — Amanda Le, InStyle, 14 Sep. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for passed away
  1. gone
  2. died
  3. deceased
  4. fell
  5. fallen
  6. perished
  7. departed
  8. checked out
Adjective
  • Suddenly, photos, videos, or important documents are just… gone.
    — StackCommerce Team, PC Magazine, 15 May 2026
  • Room by room, the author takes us through the house, now long gone.
    — Mary Ann Grossmann, Twin Cities, 8 Feb. 2026
Definition of gone
Verb
  • Instead, three of those whales have died, along with another Shedd whale that did not come from Marineland.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 28 Sep. 2026
  • This was a place that had died, a place where life no longer existed.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 28 Sep. 2026
Definition of died
Adjective
  • Historical Artist of the Year Honoring a deceased artist who is the subject of a major museum survey that offers a new lens with which to examine their work.
    — Maximilíano Durón, ARTnews.com, 29 Sep. 2026
  • In the same month Netflix released Train Dreams, the film version of Denis Johnson’s revered short novel about a logger whose deceased baby daughter visits him in the form of a wolf.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 28 Sep. 2026
Definition of deceased
Verb
  • Yet trees that took a millennium to grow can be felled in under an hour.
    — Annika Hammerschlag, Los Angeles Times, 16 Sep. 2026
  • Vines are pulled away from fences, and sometimes trees are even felled.
    — The Washington Post, San Diego Union-Tribune, 12 Sep. 2026
Definition of fell
Adjective
  • Crab shells, whole and in pieces, turned up all over the school, to be swept away with the dust and fallen leaves and other litter, placed in a trash bag, and carried off behind the buildings to the incinerator.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 28 Sep. 2026
  • Romaine said crews were clearing drains and chopping up fallen trees.
    — Jesse Zanger, CBS News, 27 Sep. 2026
Definition of fallen
Verb
  • Pries’s suggestion, known as the inverse Galois problem, was inspired by the work of the 19th-century French mathematician Évariste Galois, who perished after he was wounded in a gun duel at age 20.
    — Lyndie Chiou, Scientific American, 22 Sep. 2026
  • As a result, more people have now died of environmental illnesses that followed the September 11 attacks than perished during the collapse of the towers that day.
    — Brenda Goodman, CNN Money, 19 Sep. 2026
Definition of perished
Adjective
  • Judaism approaches these moments with deep sensitivity, offering guidance not to judge or criticize, but to bring dignity, comfort, and peace—to the soul of the departed and to those left behind.
    — Rabbi Moishe Kievman, Sun Sentinel, 27 Jan. 2026
Definition of departed
Verb
  • Essential California checked out the trials, tested airport counters, walked through the terminal’s new gates and conversed with excited passengers looking forward to their next flight out of Burbank.
    — Andrew J. Campa, Los Angeles Times, 26 Sep. 2026
  • Staff described students as often seeming physically and mentally worn down and checked out.
    — Crystal Cederna, The Conversation, 25 Sep. 2026
Definition of checked out

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passed
passed away
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Cite this Entry

“Passed away.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/passed%20away. Accessed 3 Oct. 2026.

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