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threnody

noun

ˈthre-nə-dē How to pronounce threnody (audio)
Definition of threnodynext
as in lament
a composition expressing one's grief over a loss the composer's cello concerto was composed as a moving threnody for his late wife

Synonyms & Similar Words

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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 threnody His diary shrank to a litany of suffering and a threnody for what might have been. — Sara Wheeler, WSJ, 25 Oct. 2018 Most critics acknowledged the score’s beautiful moments, especially Cleopatra’s death scene, in which the character’s plaintive lyrical lines are capped by a chilling choral threnody. — Anthony Tommasini, New York Times, 22 Dec. 2017
Recent Examples of Synonyms for threnody
  1. lament
  2. elegy
  3. dirge
  4. requiem
Noun
  • Williams intermittently cuts to ominous exterior shots of a dark church and layers in a score of hymnal lament.
    — Ritesh Mehta, IndieWire, 15 Sep. 2026
  • That ambiguity is echoed in Banks’ score, which takes on the tone of a lament and a celebration, frustration and hope, struggle and liberation, the quest for transcendence in the face of the challenges posed by daunting inequities.
    — George Varga, San Diego Union-Tribune, 23 Aug. 2026
Definition of lament
Noun
  • Their books are therefore, in some respects, elegies to a conception of reading and writing which seems to be nearing an end.
    — Louis Menand, New Yorker, 21 Sep. 2026
  • In some ways, Birthright is an elegy to the Jewish experience in America—a place where Israel has been centered as our refuge and rightful homeland for the last 76-odd years.
    — Hannah Seligson, Vanity Fair, 12 Aug. 2026
Definition of elegy
Noun
  • The film’s turning point is a tragedy during a fight arranged by Frankie, making its second half more of a dirge than a sports film.
    — David Faris, TheWeek, 26 Aug. 2026
  • Nobody wants to be subjected to one more triggering, off-key note of an Edwin Díaz dirge.
    — Mirjam Swanson, Los Angeles Times, 14 Aug. 2026
Definition of dirge
Noun
  • The objectors' subsequent ululation echoed a requiem for a fallen hero--all over a time shift that accessing the PBS app avoids entirely.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 25 Sep. 2026
  • And for me, ‘Amor Eterno,’ coincidentally also patterns how most requiems start, which is requiem eternum, eternal rest, eternal love.
    — Rod Stafford Hagwood, Sun Sentinel, 29 May 2026
Definition of requiem

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threnodies
threnody
thresh
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Cite this Entry

“Threnody.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/threnody. Accessed 30 Sep. 2026.

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