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• cenotaph
  cenotaph

  noun

  a sepulchral monument erected in memory of a deceased person whose body is buried elsewhere.
• Cenotaph
  Cenotaph

  noun

  the monument in Whitehall, London, honouring the dead of both World Wars: designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens: erected in 1920

cenotaph

American  

[sen-uh-taf, -tahf] / ˈsɛn əˌtæf, -ˌtɑf /

noun

1. a sepulchral monument erected in memory of a deceased person whose body is buried elsewhere.

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Cenotaph ¹ British  

/ ˈsɛnəˌtɑːf /

noun

1. the monument in Whitehall, London, honouring the dead of both World Wars: designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens: erected in 1920

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cenotaph ² British  

/ ˈsɛnəˌtɑːf /

noun

1. a monument honouring a dead person or persons buried elsewhere

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Other Word Forms

• cenotaphic
  adjective

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Etymology

Origin of cenotaph

1595–1605; < Latin cenotaphium < Greek kenotáphion, equivalent to kenó ( s ) empty + -taphion ( táph ( os ) tomb + -ion diminutive suffix)

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Explanation

A cenotaph is a monument to the dead, specifically those buried in another place. Cenotaphs are often erected in honor of war veterans. A cenotaph — which is very similar to a tomb — is a memorial to the dead. Unlike a tomb, a cenotaph doesn’t contain the body of the person memorialized, because the remains are elsewhere or couldn’t be recovered. Across the United States, you can find cenotaphs for people who served in World War I, World War II, the Vietnam War, and other conflicts. Family members and other citizens leave flowers at cenotaphs to pay respect to the dead.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

cenotaph Cenotaph

Inaugurated in 1932, the marble cenotaph honours the memory of Greek soldiers fallen in combat.

From Barron's ● Oct. 23, 2025

GMP said there was also another incident of vandalism at the cenotaph on Monday when poppies were taken down.

From BBC ● Nov. 7, 2023

Choi kneels before the cenotaph and hangs his head.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 24, 2023

“A vast cenotaph of secession” was how the journalist and historian Tony Horwitz described Richmond in his 1998 book, “Confederates in the Attic: Dispatches From the Unfinished Civil War.”

From New York Times ● Dec. 26, 2022

The cenotaph afterwards erected in Stoke Park by Mr. Penn is described below.

From Select Poems of Thomas Gray by Robert Carruthers

More than 20 different faith groups were represented around the plain stone of the Cenotaph, with clerical robes mixing in with the military uniforms.

From BBC ● Nov. 9, 2025

That was a reminder that as well as the military veterans, the commemoration by the Cenotaph brings together representatives of other types of service.

From BBC ● Nov. 9, 2025

These will include the Cenotaph in Whitehall, the Royal Artillery Memorial in Hyde Park, and many other famous structures across Britain commemorating the service of the armed forces in the First and Second World Wars.

From BBC ● May 6, 2025

Sir Keir joined other political leaders and members of the Royal Family, including the Prince and Princess of Wales, for the annual National Service of Remembrance ceremony at the Cenotaph in London on Sunday.

From BBC ● Nov. 11, 2024

At first he said nothing, and then, just as we were passing the scaffolding of the Cenotaph, he did something which proved him to be very much out of the common, a creature apart.

From Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 159, July 7th, 1920 by Various

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Related Words

• gravestone
• headstone
• marker
• masterpiece
• mausoleum
• pillar
• shrine
• slab
• statue
• stele
• stone
• tablet
• testament
• tomb
• tombstone
• tribute

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