thanatopsis

American  

[than-uh-top-sis] / ˌθæn əˈtɒp sɪs /

noun

1. a view or contemplation of death.

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

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thanatopsis British  

/ ˌθænəˈtɒpsɪs /

noun

1. a meditation on death, as in a poem

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Etymology

Origin of thanatopsis

thanat(o)- + -opsis

Example Sentences

One of the first profiles written about him during the bus boycott noted a "conspicuous thread of thanatopsis" in his private conversation as well.

From Time Magazine Archive

One of the first profiles written about him during the bus boycott noted a "conspicuous thread of thanatopsis" in his private conversation as well.

From Time Magazine Archive

The pie list swelled; the richer puddings had vanished; the sausage, with his drapery wrapped about him, barely lingered in a pleasant thanatopsis with the buckwheats and the sweet but doomed maple.

From The Four Million by Henry, O.

We think that a much calmer and milder mood may well become us before such a thanatopsis.

From The Color Line A Brief in Behalf of the Unborn by Smith, William Benjamin