memorial

American  

[muh-mawr-ee-uhl, -mohr-] / məˈmɔr i əl, -ˈmoʊr- /

noun

1. something designed to preserve the memory of a person, event, etc., as a monument or a holiday.

2. a written statement of facts presented to a sovereign, a legislative body, etc., as the ground of, or expressed in the form of, a petition or remonstrance.

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adjective

1. preserving the memory of a person or thing; commemorative.

   memorial services.

2. of or relating to the memory.

memorial British  

/ mɪˈmɔːrɪəl /

adjective

1. serving to preserve the memory of the dead or a past event

2. of or involving memory

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noun

1. something serving as a remembrance

2. a written statement of facts submitted to a government, authority, etc, in conjunction with a petition

3. an informal diplomatic paper

Other Word Forms

• memorially adverb

Etymology

Origin of memorial

1350–1400; Middle English < Late Latin memoriāle, noun use of neuter of Latin memoriālis for or containing memoranda. See memory, -al ¹

Example Sentences

Jaidyn Rice's mother and grandmother both support a proposed reduction, recalling what they observed when visiting her memorial in the weeks after her death.

From BBC

On some sites such content was posted once a minute, said Groschek, who works at memorial sites in Hamburg, including the Neuengamme concentration camp.

From Barron's

The memorial has become more than a marker of grief -- it provides a gathering point for a community struggling to reckon with fear, loss and a deepening sense that something fundamental is slipping away.

From Barron's

At a makeshift memorial near the site of the shooting, demonstrators gathered after the march to lay flowers and candles.

From Barron's

Some were on their way to lay flowers at a nearby memorial for Pretti, while others visited on their way home from protests against the weeks-long federal immigration enforcement operation in the city.

From BBC

Related Words

• ceremony
• headstone
• mausoleum
• plaque
• remembrance
• statue
• tombstone