thanatopsis

[ than-uh-top-sis ]

/ ˌθæn əˈtɒp sɪs /

noun

a view or contemplation of death.

(initial capital letter, italics) a poem (1817) by William Cullen Bryant.

Nearby words

Origin of thanatopsis

thanat(o)- + -opsis

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for thanatopsis

She hurried out to apprize Mrs. Leonard Warren, as president of the Thanatopsis, of the miracle which had been worked.
Main Street|Sinclair Lewis
SHE had often been invited to the weekly meetings of the Thanatopsis, the women's study club, but she had put it off.
Main Street|Sinclair Lewis
His most famous poem, "Thanatopsis," was composed when he was but eighteen years of age.
St. Nicholas Magazine for Boys and Girls, Vol. 5, September 1878, No. 11|Various
His first poem was Thanatopsis , which was greeted as the best poem produced in America up to that time.
A Short Biographical Dictionary of English Literature|John W. Cousin

Thanatopsis attracted instant attention in this country and in England.
Children's Stories in American Literature, 1660-1860|Henrietta Christian Wright

British Dictionary definitions for thanatopsis

thanatopsis

/ (ˌθænəˈtɒpsɪs) /

noun

a meditation on death, as in a poem

Word Origin for thanatopsis

C19: from Greek thanatos death + opsis a view

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012