burial-ground

A small burial-ground sits on a hill overlooking the town.

Definition

1. Noun:
   • A place for burying the dead: "burial-ground" refers to a designated area, such as a cemetery or graveyard, where deceased persons are interred. It is a plot of land used specifically for the burial of human remains.

Usage Examples

• (A cemetery located behind a religious building.)
• (A designated space in a public cemetery.)
• (An archaeological site containing graves.)

Advanced Usage

• "consecrated burial-ground": a burial-ground that has been blessed or set apart for sacred use, often by a religious authority.

  • Only members of the parish could be interred in the consecrated burial-ground. (The cemetery was sanctified for religious burials.)

• "unconsecrated burial-ground": a burial-ground that has not been formally blessed, sometimes used for suicides or non-believers.

  • The criminal was buried in an unconsecrated burial-ground outside the town. (A plot not sanctified by the church.)

Variants and Related Words

• Burial (n): the act or ceremony of placing a dead body in a grave.

  • The burial took place at noon. (The interment ceremony occurred at midday.)

• Ground (n): the solid surface of the earth; land.

  • The ground was too rocky for digging graves. (The earth's surface was unsuitable.)

Synonyms

• Cemetery: a large burial-ground, often not attached to a church.
• Graveyard: a burial-ground, typically one adjoining a church.
• Churchyard: a burial-ground surrounding a church.
• Necropolis: a large, ancient burial-ground or cemetery.

Related Idioms

• "a burial-ground of hopes": a metaphorical place where dreams or aspirations are abandoned.

  • After years of failure, the project became a burial-ground of hopes. (A situation where ambitions are crushed.)

• "to be buried in a pauper's burial-ground": to be interred without ceremony or expense, often for the poor.

  • He died unknown and was laid to rest in a pauper's burial-ground. (A grave for the indigent.)