thanatology
Americannoun
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the study of death and its surrounding circumstances, as in forensic medicine.
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Psychiatry. the study of the effects of death and dying, especially the investigation of ways to lessen the suffering and address the needs of the terminally ill and their survivors.
noun
Other Word Forms
- thanatological adjective
- thanatologist noun
Etymology
Origin of thanatology
Explanation
The study of death is thanatology. If you're interested in philosophy, medicine, and the details of death and dying, you might want to take college classes in thanatology. There are many aspects to thanatology, from the psychological care of dying medical patients to forensics, the science of death and determining exactly how a person died. The word thanatology comes from thanatos, "death" in Greek. There was a brief period when some undertakers lobbied to be called thanatologists, but it never caught on.
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.
Dr Sam Murphy, senior lecturer at the Open University, specialises in thanatology, the study of death and the practices associated with it.
From BBC • Sep. 21, 2025
“We are in for a death boom, we are in for a dementia boom,” said Florian, a fellow in thanatology, the study of death and bereavement.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 12, 2019
In 2013, he memorably called Spotify “the last desperate fart of a dying corpse”, a turn of phrase that revealed he was no student of thanatology, seeing as corpses are already dead.
From The Guardian • Apr. 5, 2016
She also uses her background in thanatology – the scientific study of death, dying and bereavement – to educate participants about death and normalize their experiences.
From US News • Jan. 7, 2015
Colleges offer courses in thanatology, and churches present seminars on coping with death.
From Time Magazine Archive
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.
