funeral

American  

[fyoo-ner-uhl] / ˈfju nər əl /

noun

• funerals
  plural

1. the ceremonies for a dead person prior to burial or cremation; obsequies.

2. a funeral procession.

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adjective

1. of or relating to a funeral.

   funeral services; funeral expenses.

idioms

1. be someone's funeral, to have unpleasant consequences for someone.

   If you don't finish the work on time, it will be your funeral!

funeral British  

/ ˈfjuːnərəl /

noun

1. 1. a ceremony at which a dead person is buried or cremated

   2. ( as modifier )

      a funeral service

2. a procession of people escorting a corpse to burial

3. informal worry; concern; affair

   that's your funeral

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funeral More Idioms  

1. see it's your funeral.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• prefuneral
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• funerals
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of funeral

1350–1400; Middle English (adj.) < Medieval Latin fūnerālis, equivalent to Latin fūner-, stem of fūnus funeral rites + -ālis -al ¹; (noun), from early 16th cent., probably < Middle French funerailles < Medieval Latin fūnerālia, neuter plural of fūnerālis

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Explanation

A funeral is a ceremony to bury or cremate the dead. If you go to a funeral, wear black and try not to seem like you're having fun. Funeral comes from the Latin root fūnus, for "dead body," and so a funeral is the ritual that surrounds taking care of a dead body. Depending on the dead person's beliefs, there will often be a representative of a religion there to honor them in a traditional way. Sometimes we use funeral for dead things other than dead people. If you just gave a really bad party, you could call it a funeral for your social life.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

funeral funerals

At the funeral service on Wednesday, patriotic songs blaring, the city's deputy mayor Nguyen Manh Cuong said authorities "will not overlook any opportunity or method to continue the journey of searching for the fallen comrades".

From Barron's ● Oct. 14, 2026

Vietnam held funeral rites for more than 700 of its war dead on Wednesday, unearthed in a major push to identify those missing from decades of conflict with France and the United States.

From Barron's ● Oct. 14, 2026

A hotel could charge a higher price for a person traveling for a funeral.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 11, 2026

Expanding on that idea, Ashe incorporates the ebullient sound of a New Orleans funeral band in the song's closing moments.

From BBC ● Oct. 9, 2026

I’d hear Ma on the phone with my aunts and uncles, talking details and planning funeral arrangements, and I had to leave the house.

From "Kwame Crashes the Underworld" by Craig Kofi Farmer

More recently, like most Israelis, I have been to dozens of funerals and shiva houses.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026

Some Nepali families who were searching for their missing loved ones had begun holding symbolic funerals in the last few days, in a sign of dimming hope for survivors.

From Barron's ● Sep. 4, 2026

Courts have repeatedly upheld buffer-zone protections for funerals, polling sites and other places where people deserve to be left in peace; a law addressing disruptive behavior at houses of worship is on solid constitutional ground.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026

For some grieving families, AI content provides a way to mourn their loved ones; in some cases, deepfakes featuring deceased people are used at funerals.

From BBC ● Jun. 13, 2026

“On days that I don’t glean, I attend funerals and do research for future gleanings. Scythes...or should I say good scythes...don’t often have days off.”

From "Scythe" by Neal Shusterman

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Related Words

• burial
• cremation

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