obituary
English · Thesaurus
AI In plain words
Writing a short explanation…
Written by a house AI from the entry below, in your language. The entry itself is the source.
obituary
- /əˈbɪt͡ʃʊ(ə)ɹi/ UK
- /əˈbɪt͡ʃɹi/ UK
- /əˈbɪtjʊ(ə)ɹi/ UK
- /əʊ-/ UK
- /əˈbɪt͡ʃəˌwɛɹi/ US
- /əˈbɪt͡ʃuˌɜɹi/ US
- /əˈbɪt͡ʃəɹi/ US
- /oʊ-/ US
Where it comes from
PIE word
*h₁epi
Learned borrowing from Medieval Latin obituārius (“obituary”) + English -ary (suffix denoting something relating to another thing or used in a place). Obituārius is derived from Latin obitus (“act of approaching or going toward, an approach; act of going down, setting; of the sun: sunset; death; destruction, downfall, ruin”) + -ārius (suffix forming adjectives and agent nouns); while obitus is a noun use of the perfect passive participle of obeō (“to go to meet, go towards; (figurative) to die, pass away, perish; (astronomy) to set”), from ob- (prefix meaning ‘toward’) + eō (“to go, move”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₁ey- (“to go”).
noun obituaries
-
A brief notice of a person's death, especially one published in a newspaper or other publication; also (obsolete), the section of a newspaper where notices of deaths are published.
[N]ot one in fifty of the actual disasters and deaths by casualties in the fishery, ever finds a public record at home, however transient and immediately forgotten that record. Do you suppose that that poor fellow there, who this moment perhaps caught by the whale-line off the coast of New Guinea, i
Similar: obit
- A brief biography of a person (especially one who is well-known) who has recently died, usually describing their life and achievements, particularly in the form of an article in a news publication or an item in a news broadcast. You know the Greeks didn't write obituaries. They only asked one question after a man died: "Did he have passion?"
- An announcement or description of the end of something. Mouths were agape on the announcement of England's starting lineup, the return of Keira Walsh appearing miraculous 10 days after she left the pitch on a stretcher in agony. Walsh’s World Cup obituaries were written; she was England's most valuable player, irreplaceable.
- A register of deaths, especially one maintained by a religious institution; a necrology.
adjective more obituary · most obituary
- Relating to obituaries. He is the paper's obituary editor.
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: necrology, obit, tribute, eulogy, necrologue, death notice, remembrance, obituary notice, in memoriam, epitaph, parentation, obsequie, eloge, agony column, funeral, funerall
Translations
Every language
noun brief notice of a person’s death, especially one published in a newspaper
| Español | obituario, esquela, necrología |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 부음 bueum, 부고 bugo, 행장 haengjang |
| 日本語 | 訃 fu, 訃報 fuhō, 死亡記事 shibō kiji |
| 中文 | 訃告 /讣告 fùgào, 訃聞 /讣闻 fùwén |
| हिन्दी | इत्तेला-ए-वफ़ात ittelā-e-vafāt |
| Kiswahili | tanzia |
| Português | obituário |
| Français | nécrologie, nécro |
| Deutsch | Nekrolog, Parte, Partezettel, Todesanzeige, Totenzettel, Traueranzeige |
| Italiano | necrologio |
| Ελληνικά | αναγγελία θανάτου anangelía thanátou, νεκρολογία nekrología |
| Română | necrolog |
| Русский | некроло́г nekrológ |
| Tiếng Việt | cáo phó |
| العربية | نَعْي naʕy |
| עברית | מוֹדַעַת אֵבֶל moda'át evel |
noun brief biography of a person who has recently died
| Español | obituario |
|---|---|
| 日本語 | 死亡者略歴 shibousharyakureki |
| 中文 | 訃告 /讣告 fùgào, 訃聞 /讣闻 fùwén |
| Português | obituário |
| Français | nécrologie |
| Deutsch | Nachruf, Nekrolog |
| Italiano | necrologio |
| Ελληνικά | νεκρολογία nekrología |
| Română | necrolog |
| Русский | некроло́г nekrológ |
| עברית | מוֹדַעַת אֵבֶל moda'át evel, נקרולוג |
noun announcement or description of the end of something
| Deutsch | Abgesang, Abschreiben |
|---|
Talk about this word "obituary." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/obituary. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. obituary. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/obituary "obituary." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/obituary.Cite this
@misc{obituary_2026,
title = {obituary},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/obituary},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}