departed
Americanadjective
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deceased; dead.
-
gone; past.
noun
-
departeds
plural
adjective
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of departed
Explanation
Something that's departed is gone, or happened in the distant past. An archaeologist might unearth artifacts from a departed era. Anything that's past or long gone is departed, including a person who has died. When your friend talks about her dear, departed Uncle Bob, you know that Uncle Bob is no longer living. The word has been a euphemism for "dead" since at least the 16th century — the traditional wedding service once read "till death us depart," rather than today's "till death do us part."
Vocabulary lists containing departed
The Epic Fail of Arturo Zamora
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Shine On, Luz Véliz!
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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.
Then there was a rupture in the relationship and Musk departed, although they seem to have mended fences.
From Salon ● Oct. 17, 2026
“The FAA is aware of and looking into an incident involving a medical helicopter that departed from Catalina Island shortly before a different helicopter that crashed,” the agency said in a statement to The Times.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 14, 2026
Driscoll departed in September, following disagreements with Hegseth.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 10, 2026
Eswatini, which welcomed 32 deportees from the US, says three people - from Yemen, Belize and Laos - "voluntarily departed" to their home countries recently.
From BBC ● Oct. 8, 2026
Bandit heard the sounds of laughter and voices, footfalls and bicycle bells, as guests departed from one court, then another.
From "In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson" by Bette Bao Lord
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
