mourner

[mawr-ner, mohr-]

noun

1. a person who mourns.

2. a person who attends a funeral to mourn for the deceased.

3. (at religious revival meetings) a person who professes penitence for sin, with desire for salvation.

mourner

/ ˈmɔːnə /

noun

1. a person who mourns, esp at a funeral

2. (at US revivalist meetings) a person who repents publicly

Word History and Origins

Origin of mourner¹

Middle English word dating back to 1350–1400; mourn, -er ¹

Example Sentences

"She was a lady that never did harm. She was very peaceful and hard-working," said one mourner as family, friends and colleagues gathered for a big funeral at her local mosque.

Read more on BBC

Blue-and-white Israeli flags fluttered in the wind, as mourners held the young lieutenant's portrait alongside a homemade banner reading: "We will remember forever."

Read more on Barron's

Her husband and his cousin were taken for burial – their white coffins carried by black-clad mourners through streets brimming with grief.

Read more on BBC

On a recent day in mid-September, mourners huddled outside a Johannesburg, South Africa, cathedral in anticipation of a private send-off.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

The men's coffins were draped in Hezbollah's flag while mourners threw petals and chanted "death to Israel, death to America".

Read more on Barron's

Related Words

• pallbearer