decease
Americannoun
verb (used without object)
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deceases,
present (3rd person singular)
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deceased,
past participle, past
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deceasing
present participle
noun
verb
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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deceasesimple
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deceasessimple
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have deceasedperfect
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has deceasedperfect
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am deceasingprogressive
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are deceasingprogressive
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is deceasingprogressive
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have been deceasingperfect progressive
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has been deceasingperfect progressive
Past
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deceasedsimple
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had deceasedperfect
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was deceasingprogressive
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were deceasingprogressive
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had been deceasingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of decease
1300–50; (noun) Middle English deces < Old French < Latin dēcessus departure, death, equivalent to dēced-, variant stem of dēcēdere to go away ( dē- de- + cēdere to go; see cede) + -tus suffix of v. action, with dt > s; (v.) late Middle English decesen, derivative of the noun
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.
See Examples For:
In the capillaries and veins, the blood pressure continues to decease but velocity increases.
From Textbooks ● Jun. 9, 2022
Yet here I hardly know whether I should divulge one little item of rumor, which came to my ear a few months after the scrivener’s decease.
From Slate ● Oct. 22, 2015
No, we don't mean Margaret Thatcher, though her decease prompted ruminations about her cinematic era and the effect it's had since.
From The Guardian ● Apr. 11, 2013
I advance personally, solely to you ... decease calls me forth.”
From Slate ● Mar. 19, 2013
That night, I listened with care to his breathing as he slept; and I thought on final words, and that he did not believe he had a soul that would survive his decease.
From "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume II: The Kingdom on the Waves" by M.T. Anderson
Further testing for communicable deceases is being performed.”
From Time ● Oct. 29, 2015
Consciousness is a production which results from the fermentation and elaboration of unconscious materials; and after a time it deceases, its conditions crumbling into their inorganic grounds again.
From The Destiny of the Soul A Critical History of the Doctrine of a Future Life by William Rounseville Alger
Inasmuch as he carries the malignity and the lie with him he so far deceases from nature.
From Essays — First Series by Ralph Waldo Emerson
His soul dwells in the outside of him, like that of a hollow tree, and if you do but peel the bark off him he deceases immediately.
From Character Writings of the 17th Century by Various
Inasmuch as he carries the malignity and the lie with him, he so far deceases from nature.
From Essays by Ralph Waldo Emerson by Edna Henry Lee Turpin
My understanding is that leaving the policy solely in the deceased parents’ names could create a problem if there is a claim, particularly now that the daughter has inherited the property.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 13, 2026
The head of Tatarstan, Rustam Minnikhanov, confirmed the strike and shared his condolences with the families of the deceased.
From BBC ● Aug. 10, 2026
Fueled by a booming resale market, the ritual of buying deceased homeowners’ belongings has morphed from a leisurely weekend outing into an elbows-up affair.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 9, 2026
Because the act that prompted the deputies to open fire was committed solely by the deceased suspect, Jianquan Bo could not be charged in connection with his brother’s death.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 4, 2026
Often one of the brothers steps in and snatches control, leaving the family of the deceased at his mercy.
From "The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind" by William Kamkwamba
But the report warns that perceptions of deceasing security of supply could potentially deter investment.
From BBC ● Nov. 26, 2014
From Nicholas, is descended Carew of Haccumb, who by vertue of this entayle, succeeded also to Hughs portion, as deceasing issuelesse.
From The Survey of Cornwall And an epistle concerning the excellencies of the English tongue by Richard Carew
Sinaus and Truuor deceasing without issue, Rurek succeeded and left a sonne behinde him named Igor; who not being of sufficient yeres to beare rule, was committed vnto the protection of his kinsman Olechus.
From The Principal Navigations, Voyages, Traffiques and Discoveries of the English Nation — Volume 03 by Richard Hakluyt
Beyond a question; since Paul stateth, in his missive, that he saw much of this same ambassador, living greatly in his society, Eugenius deceasing as lately as 1477.
From Mercedes of Castile The Voyage to Cathay by J. Fenimore Cooper
Husband, He be thy wife in heauen: let not thy pure deceasing spirite despise me when we meete, because I am tyrannously polluted.
From The Vnfortunate Traveller, or The Life Of Jack Wilton With An Essay On The Life And Writings Of Thomas Nash By Edmund Gosse by Edmund Gosse
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.
