funereal
Americanadjective
-
of or suitable for a funeral.
-
mournful; gloomy; dismal.
a funereal aloofness that was quite chilling.
adjective
Other Word Forms
- funereally adverb
- unfunereal adjective
- unfunereally adverb
Etymology
Origin of funereal
1715–25; < Latin fūnere(us) of, belonging to a funeral + -al 1 ( def. )
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.
You can futz with the bread, you can gild the cheese, but if the core is bland or watery or vaguely funereal, the whole enterprise collapses.
From Salon • Dec. 4, 2025
These, however, also feel funereal, like death masks taken after a long-suffering friend has been freed finally from corporeal struggles.
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 14, 2025
The musicians wore white, flower-print jackets and black shirts as they played funereal tunes.
From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 28, 2025
The stunning call — which some attendees described as funereal — added to the growing tension between the newsroom and Mr. Lewis, who has set about remaking The Post since he started in January.
From New York Times • Jun. 3, 2024
In the fall of 1980, Maya Lin was a senior at Yale University, taking a class on funereal architecture, studying how cemeteries and monuments reflect attitudes toward death.
From "Boots on the Ground: America's War in Vietnam" by Elizabeth Partridge
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.
