funeral

1 of 2

adjective

fu·ner·al ˈfyün-rəl

ˈfyü-nə-

: of, relating to, or constituting a funeral

: funereal sense 2

funeral

2 of 2

noun

: the observances held for a dead person usually before burial or cremation

chiefly dialectal : a funeral sermon

: a funeral procession

: an end of something's existence

: a matter of concern to one : worry

if you flunk, it's your funeral

Example Sentences

Adjective a slow and heavy funeral song Noun Only family attended the funeral. His funeral will be held on Friday. His cousin made the funeral arrangements.

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

With funeral croquettas and elk carpaccio, Tyson Peterson blends his heritage and his influences.

Stefene Russell, The Salt Lake Tribune, 1 Dec. 2022 Those pictured and hundreds of others honored Tetrick’s life and grieved his death on Saturday during a funeral service downtown.

Kaylee Remington, cleveland, 26 Nov. 2022 The movie honors T’Challa with a gorgeously filmed and choreographed funeral sequence.

Maya Phillips, New York Times, 25 Nov. 2022 By the end of last week, the mood on the platform was half funeral, half bacchanal, as departing staff tweeted out farewells and others wondered gleefully whether the site would still be there by morning.

Kyle Chayka, The New Yorker, 22 Nov. 2022 There’s a kernel of truth there: Being cruel isn’t my MO, but negative reviews need a little spice here and there to avoid sounding like a funeral dirge.

Tom Sietsema, Washington Post, 21 Nov. 2022 Musk also shared a handful of memes as Twitter users began to eulogize the social media platform, including one of a man posing next to a grave at a funeral service — with the Twitter logo slapped on both the mourner and the headstone.

Brenton Blanchet, Peoplemag, 18 Nov. 2022 Shortly after Takeoff’s friends, family, and fans gathered to mourn the unexpected death of the Migos rapper at a funeral service on Friday, Cardi B took a reflective moment of her own to honor him.

Jodi Guglielmi, Rolling Stone, 12 Nov. 2022 In addition to the many heartfelt eulogies from fellow musicians, Takeoff was honored in a funeral service and afterparty in the Grand Theft Auto community that took place on Monday.

Gil Kaufman, Billboard, 8 Nov. 2022

Noun

Kelsey leaned on Mo for advice on how to incorporate Native culture into the grieving process, including the filming of the baby's funeral ceremony.

Chaise Sanders, Country Living, 4 Dec. 2022 His mother insisted on an open casket funeral to show how brutal his killing was.

Mirna Alsharif, NBC News, 3 Dec. 2022 Deliberately anonymous in expression and dress, his figures are stoic, not cheerful, existing in a kind of haunted purgatory that recalls Roman funeral portraits.

Richard B. Woodward, WSJ, 3 Dec. 2022 A few weeks after their mom's funeral, the brothers returned to school and familiar activities.

Mead Stone, CBS News, 2 Dec. 2022 William also shared his long-term ambition for the prize and thanked Biden for attending Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral in September.

Shannon Larson, BostonGlobe.com, 2 Dec. 2022 The funeral potato croquettas, Peterson said, are now the restaurant’s top seller.

Stefene Russell, The Salt Lake Tribune, 1 Dec. 2022 Hundreds of family members and friends attended Chapin's Nov. 21 funeral in Mount Vernon, Washington – about six hours from the University of Idaho.

Rebecca Rosenberg, Fox News, 1 Dec. 2022 Plans for his funeral services have not been announced yet.

Brandy Mcdonnell, USA TODAY, 30 Nov. 2022 See More

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'funeral.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Word History

Etymology

Adjective

Middle English, from Late Latin funeralis, from Latin funer-, funus funeral (noun)

Noun

Middle English funerelles (plural), from Middle French funerailles (plural), from Medieval Latin funeralia (plural), from Late Latin, neuter plural of funeralis, adjective

First Known Use

Adjective

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun

circa 1513, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler

The first known use of funeral was in the 15th century

See more words from the same century