departed
Americanadjective
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deceased; dead.
-
gone; past.
noun
-
departeds
plural
adjective
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of departed
Explanation
Something that's departed is gone, or happened in the distant past. An archaeologist might unearth artifacts from a departed era. Anything that's past or long gone is departed, including a person who has died. When your friend talks about her dear, departed Uncle Bob, you know that Uncle Bob is no longer living. The word has been a euphemism for "dead" since at least the 16th century — the traditional wedding service once read "till death us depart," rather than today's "till death do us part."
Vocabulary lists containing departed
The Epic Fail of Arturo Zamora
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Shine On, Luz Véliz!
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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.
Seven passenger planes across Europe, two of which departed from the UK, have been inspected following a series of suspected bomb threats.
From BBC ● Nov. 3, 2026
Be it with candles or the pine sticks preferred in Sagada, lighting a flame is "inviting the presence of Christ with us, having fellowship with our departed loved ones", he said.
From Barron's ● Nov. 2, 2026
Celebrities who departed earlier in the series included ex-EastEnders actor Ross Kemp, model Jerry Hall, sitcom star Miranda Hart, comedian Joe Lycett, presenter Hannah Fry and former BBC journalist Amol Rajan.
From BBC ● Oct. 30, 2026
The flight then departed shortly after midnight, with two pilots on board and a flight attendant.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 29, 2026
He experienced its wavering progress as it departed his hand.
From "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" by Philip K. Dick
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
