decedent
Americannoun
-
decedents
plural
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
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.
Vocabulary lists containing decedent
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:
It seems likely that most of this property was joint property, unless the decedent made beneficiary designations on certain accounts.
From MarketWatch ● Dec. 6, 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
The widow or children of any decedent are entitled to the same amount from his estate for her or their use.
From How to Collect a Doctor Bill by Frank P. Davis
He and the other three decedents were Mexican nationals, prompting the Mexican government to demand an immediate review of the facility, pointing to “serious omissions and evident deficiencies” in medical care.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 30, 2026
The federal law sets up a process for museums and federal agencies to return certain Native American cultural items, including funerary and sacred objects, to tribes and direct decedents of the people they belonged to.
From Seattle Times ● May 29, 2024
Rapid, massive increases in the number of certain cell types were also seen in decedents receiving pig hearts.
From Science Daily ● May 21, 2024
All decedents located at the Colorado funeral home were removed on 13 October and transported to the El Paso County Coroner's Office.
From BBC ● Nov. 9, 2023
Surprisingly, however, a random sample of 747 death notices published in Salt Lake City, Utah, newspapers during 1977 indicated that 46 percent of the decedents surveyed died within the three- month period following their birthdays.
From "Innumeracy: Mathematical Illiteracy and Its Consequences" by John Allen Paulos
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.
