obituary

[ oh-bich-oo-er-ee ]

noun

, plural o·bit·u·ar·ies.

1. a notice of the death of a person, often with a biographical sketch, as in a newspaper.

adjective

1. of, relating to, or recording a death or deaths:

   the obituary page of a newspaper.

obituary

/ əˈbɪtjʊərɪ /

noun

1. a published announcement of a death, often accompanied by a short biography of the dead person

Derived Forms

• oˈbituarist, noun

Other Words From

• o·bitu·ar·ist noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of obituary¹

1700–10; < Medieval Latin obituārius, equivalent to Latin obitu ( s ) death ( obit ) + -ārius -ary

Word History and Origins

Origin of obituary¹

C18: from Medieval Latin obituārius, from Latin obīre to fall, from ob- down + īre to go

Example Sentences

The recent passing of a longtime dining favorite went unannounced in a proper obituary.

From Washington Post

By the end of the weekend, Google searches for her name automatically prompted additional keywords like “death” and “obituary.”

From MIT Technology Review

This section of the magazine is essentially an obituary column for kitchen technology.

From MIT Technology Review

In the obituary, Farr described the days his father spent struggling with the virus without the comfort of familiar faces.

From Washington Post

In Kurt’s New York Times obituary in 2007, Jane’s name gets one mention, as the high school sweetheart he marries and divorces.

From Washington Post

Over the years, Crawford has been largely silent, speaking out only for an as-told-to obituary to Houston published in Esquire.

From The Daily Beast

As far as he is concerned, they're preparing his obituary and he doesn't care to attend the funeral.

From The Daily Beast

And a generation of obituary writers have paid tribute to celebrities as well as everyday people.

From The Daily Beast

Marilyn Johnson explored the subculture of obituary scribes in her wonderful 2006 book, The Dead Beat.

From The Daily Beast

Because in 2014, there really is no such thing as bad publicity…except your own obituary.

From The Daily Beast

We read of Turgenev who was arrested and exiled to his distant estates for writing a brief obituary notice of Gogol.

From Project Gutenberg

Good heavens, Odin thought, what a cold-blooded obituary for any race!

From Project Gutenberg

I mention the circumstance to shew that this special department of obituary masonry, as all others, was prone to imitations.

From Project Gutenberg

Did you ever hear an obituary declare a woman to be a dutiful daughter, a kind wife, a faithful mother?

From Project Gutenberg

According to the Obituary record, he “fairly decorated the choir of the church with most beautiful stone-work cunningly carved.”

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• eulogy
• obit