inurnment

[in-urn-muhnt]

noun

1. the act of putting something into an urn, especially ashes after cremation.

   As an alternative to inurnment, ashes may be scattered in designated garden spaces.

2. the act of burying a cremation urn or of placing it in an aboveground niche; interment.

   We provide in-ground inurnment in a special garden area developed specifically for the purpose.

Word History and Origins

Origin of inurnment¹

First recorded in 1785–95; inurn ( def. ) + -ment ( def. )

Example Sentences

Arlington National Cemetery is proposing new rules that would eliminate burial and inurnment eligibility for service members who die on active duty but not in combat, ending a custom that goes back to the cemetery’s founding in 1864.

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World War II-era veterans would still be eligible for inurnment.

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The new rules also would exclude the current inurnment eligibility for members of the reserves, Army National Guard or Air National Guard who suffer non-combat deaths on active duty.

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And they would not include blanket inurnment eligibility for many former members of the armed forces, which would seem to eliminate numerous veterans who served during the wars in Korea, Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan.

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They would be eligible, though, for above-ground “inurnment” of cremated remains.

Read more on Seattle Times