obituary
Americannoun
-
obituaries
plural
adjective
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of obituary
1700–10; < Medieval Latin obituārius, equivalent to Latin obitu ( s ) death ( see obit) + -ārius -ary
Explanation
An obituary is the notice of someone's death. It is placed in the newspaper to alert others to the death. It gives a background about the deceased's life, usually listing survivors and giving funeral information. The noun obituary, which appears in English in the early 18th century, comes from the Latin obīre, where ob- means "toward," and īre, "to go," suggesting a "going toward" one's death. The first obituary as we know it probably appeared shortly after the invention of the printing press and included just the bare facts of the death. In 19th-century England, the announcements became more elaborate, and photos were added in the 20th century, making the modern obituary more like an elaborate eulogy.
Vocabulary lists containing obituary
Seedfolks
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The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
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The Westing Game
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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.
See Examples For:
"The life of comrade Zhu Rongji was a life of revolution, a life of struggle, a life of glory," an obituary jointly issued by China's top political bodies said, according to Xinhua.
From Barron's ● Aug. 12, 2026
In state media his obituary described him as an "outstanding member of the Communist Party of China and loyal Commnist fighter... an outstanding leader of the Party and state".
From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2026
In its obituary, the William F. Buckley-founded National Review praised the former secretary of state as a man who spent his life tamping down turmoil.
From Salon ● Jul. 21, 2026
He also updates his own handwritten obituary every day: “He liked the idea of controlling the narrative.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 9, 2026
The next morning Mrs. Vinyl’s obituary ran in the paper.
From "Dead End in Norvelt" by Jack Gantos
Scam artists do use public obituaries, public records and stolen personal data to identify recently deceased individuals and their surviving relatives, or even former relatives like you.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 31, 2026
As much as he was revered during his nearly two decades as Fed chairman for protecting the stock market from a series of crashes and near-crashes, his obituaries take a more measured view.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 25, 2026
Still, writing obituaries for political movements is premature.
From BBC ● May 26, 2026
Annabelle Williams is a publishing editor with a focus on obituaries.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 14, 2026
In the mornings Dad handed us the comics out of the paper and flipped over to the obituaries just to make sure everyone we knew was still alive and kicking.
From "The Season of Styx Malone" by Kekla Magoon
Definitions 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.
