sepulchral
Americanadjective
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of, relating to, or serving as a tomb.
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of or relating to burial.
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proper to or suggestive of a tomb; funereal or dismal.
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hollow and deep.
sepulchral tones.
adjective
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suggestive of a tomb; gloomy
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of or relating to a sepulchre
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of sepulchral
From the Latin word sepulcrālis, dating back to 1605–15. See sepulcher, -al 1
Explanation
Something that reminds you of death is sepulchral. A dreary, misty graveyard at night usually feels sepulchral. A sepulchre is a tomb or a crypt — a kind of stone room meant for burying a dead body. Something that's sepulchral reminds you of a sepulchre, either because it looks or feels like an actual tomb, or simply because it makes you think of death or dying. An empty building might be sepulchral, or a gloomy gathering. The Latin root word is sepelire, "to bury or embalm."
Vocabulary lists containing sepulchral
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
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The Count of Monte Cristo
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The Bell Jar
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Electra in this sense offers the Prayer: setting forth the wrongs of the house and praying for Orestes and Vengeance: then calling on the Chorus for a Sepulchral Song she descends to the tomb.
From Story of Orestes A Condensation of the Trilogy by Moulton, Richard Green
Right Wall: Sepulchral urn, with a curious relief representing children and cock-fighting. 6th Room.—
From Walks in Rome by Hare, Augustus J. C.
Engravings of the Sepulchral Brasses in those Counties, original edition, folio, hf. bd. 2l. 15s.
For the supposed significance of Vases as Sepulchral Monuments, see above, p.
From A Catalogue of Sculpture in the Department of Greek and Roman Antiquities, British Museum, Volume I (of 2) by Smith, A. H.
Gough's Sepulchral Monuments in Great Britain fine plates, large folio. 1786-96.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
