as in autopsy
examination of a dead body especially to find out the cause of death
a coroner performed the postmortem examination with painstaking thoroughness
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Recent Examples of postmortem examination
Hostetler's death was ruled a homicide Dec. 23 after a postmortem examination done by the Office of the Medical Examiner.
—
Wren Smetana, AZCentral.com, 24 Dec. 2025
More information will be revealed after a postmortem examination is completed.
—Lillian Metzmeier, Louisville Courier Journal, 1 Dec. 2025
His remains were transported to the Cook County medical examiner’s office, where family members confirmed his identity following a postmortem examination.
—Samantha Moilanen, Chicago Tribune, 7 May 2025
While the postmortem examination took two hours to complete, Francisco decided to make a public statement about Elvis Presley‘s cause of death midway through the process without the consent of his fellow pathologists.
—Jenzia Burgos, StyleCaster, 9 Oct. 2024
See All Example Sentences for postmortem examination
Wren Smetana, AZCentral.com, 24 Dec. 2025
More information will be revealed after a postmortem examination is completed.
—Lillian Metzmeier, Louisville Courier Journal, 1 Dec. 2025
His remains were transported to the Cook County medical examiner’s office, where family members confirmed his identity following a postmortem examination.
—Samantha Moilanen, Chicago Tribune, 7 May 2025
While the postmortem examination took two hours to complete, Francisco decided to make a public statement about Elvis Presley‘s cause of death midway through the process without the consent of his fellow pathologists.
—Jenzia Burgos, StyleCaster, 9 Oct. 2024
See All Example Sentences for postmortem examination
Recent Examples of Synonyms for postmortem examination
autopsy
Noun
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In addition to a gunshot wound, the autopsy showed Cariif had blunt force trauma to his jaw and abrasions on his hands consistent with a fist fight.—
Nick Ferraro,
Twin Cities,
29 May 2026
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An autopsy is scheduled for Friday.—
Tess Kenny,
Chicago Tribune,
29 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Postmortem examination.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/postmortem%20examination. Accessed 5 Jun. 2026.
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