Dictionary Home » Dictionary Definitions » death

death

Listen See in Thesaurus See in a sentence

Death is defined as the act of passing away, the end of life, or the permanent destruction of something.

(noun)

An example of death is when a person takes his last breath and dies.
An example of death is when a person is no longer alive.
An example of death is when a program loses all its funding and ends forever.

See death in Webster's New World College Dictionary

noun

the act or fact of dying; permanent ending of all life in a person, animal, or plant
the personification of death, usually pictured as a skeleton in a black robe, holding a scythe
the state of being dead
any ending resembling dying; total destruction: the death of our hopes
any condition or experience thought of as like dying or being dead
the cause of death: smoking will be the death of him
murder or bloodshed
Obsolete pestilence: the Black Death

Origin: ME deth < OE dēath, akin to OS dōth, OHG tōd, ON dauthi: see dead

Related Forms:

deathlike adjective

See death in American Heritage Dictionary 4

noun

The act of dying; termination of life.
The state of being dead.
The cause of dying: Drugs were the death of him.
A manner of dying: a heroine's death.
often Death A personification of the destroyer of life, usually represented as a skeleton holding a scythe.
a. Bloodshed; murder.
b. Execution.
Law Civil death.
The termination or extinction of something: the death of imperialism.

Origin:

Origin: Middle English deeth

Origin: , from Old English dēath; see dheu-² in Indo-European roots

See death in Ologies

Death

See also burial; corpses; killing

autophonomania

an obsession with suicide.

cerement

the cloth or clothing in which the dead are wrapped for burial or other form of funeral.

cinerarium

a place where the cremated remains of the dead are stored. —cinerary, adj.

columbarium

a vault where the remains of cremated bodies are kept, usually in one of a number of recesses in a wall.

crematorium, crematory

a place where cremations are done.

epitaph

1. an inscription on a monument, as on a gravestone.

2. a short piece of prose or verse written in honor of a dead person. —epitaphial, epitaphian, epitaphic, adj.

euthanasia

the deliberate killing of painfully ill or terminally ill people to put them out of their misery. Also called mercy killing.

ktenology

the science of putting people to death.

moribundity

1. the state or quality of being on the verge of death.

2. close to extinction or stagnant. —moribund, adj.

myriologue

an improvised funeral song, composed for the dead and sung by women in modern Greece. —myriologist, n. —myriologic, myriological, adj.

necrolatry

the worship of the dead.

necrology

1. an announcement of death; obituary.

2. a list of persons who have died within a certain time. Also necrologue. —necrologist, n.

necromancy

1. the magie practiced by a witch or sorcerer.

2. a form of divination through communication with the dead; the black art. Also nigromancy. —necromancer, necromant, nigromancien, n. —necromantie, adj.

necromania

an obsession with death or the dead.

necromimesis

an abnormal condition in which a person believes himself dead.

necrophilia, necrophilism

an abnormal, often sexual attraction toward the dead or a dead body. —necrophile, n.

necrophobia

an abnormal fear of death. Also called thanatophobia.

necrosis

the death or decay of body tissue, the result of loss of blood supply or trauma. —necrotic, adj.

nerterology

Rare. any learning that pertains to the dead.