decedent

American  

[dih-seed-nt] / dɪˈsid nt /

noun

Law.

1. a deceased person.

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decedent British  

/ dɪˈsiːdənt /

noun

1. law a deceased person

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Etymology

Origin of decedent

1590–1600; < Latin dēcēdent- (stem of dēcēdēns ) departing, withdrawing, present participle of dēcēdere. See decease, -ent

Explanation

A decedent is someone who has died. Decedents are deceased. Every language has ways to avoid saying the dead guy, and English has two that come from the same root: deceased, a formal and impersonal way of designating one recently departed, and decedent, the version preferred when a lawyer is in the room. Both words are from Latin decedere, meaning "to die." Decedents include all dead people, no matter when they died. Someone who died an hour ago is a decedent as well as someone who died 300 years ago.

Example Sentences

It seems probable that most of this property was joint property, unless the decedent made beneficiary designations.

From MarketWatch • Dec. 15, 2025

“We are specifically looking to identify the white male adult decedent, who is between the ages of 35 and 40, approximately 6’ and 200# with short brown hair and facial hair,” the statement said.

From Salon • Sep. 2, 2025

In that case, the medical examiner said that even though Rupard suffered from schizophrenia and other disorders, his death was a homicide because “this decedent was dependent on others for his care.”

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 20, 2024

The worse outcomes experienced by the one decedent may be partly because this heart was smaller than anticipated for the recipient's size, and required an extra procedure to compensate for it, the researchers said.

From Science Daily • May 21, 2024

If there is no descendant living the survivor receives one-half the real estate, unless there is neither father, mother, brother nor sister of the decedent living, when he or she takes all of it.

From The History of Woman Suffrage, Volume IV by Harper, Ida Husted