dirge
/də:dʤ/
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
- Noun:
- A song or hymn of mourning composed or performed as a memorial to a dead person: A "dirge" is a slow, sad, and solemn piece of music or song, often with a funeral context, expressing grief or lamentation for the deceased.
- A mournful or elegiac poem or other literary work: It can also refer to any work, not just musical, that has the character of a lament for something lost or dead.
Examples of Usage
- Noun:
- The choir sang a slow, haunting dirge at the memorial service.
- The poet wrote a dirge for the fallen soldiers.
- The novel's final chapter reads like a dirge for a lost era.
Advanced Usage
- Used figuratively: A "dirge" can describe anything that sounds or feels like a lament.
- The constant dripping of the leaky faucet was a dirge throughout the night.
- The politician's speech was a dirge for the failed policies of the past.
Variants and Related Words
- Dirgeful (adj): Having the mournful quality of a dirge.
- The dirgeful melody filled the empty hall.
- Threnody (n): A close synonym, meaning a song, hymn, or poem of lamentation.
- The composer's threnody was dedicated to the victims of the tragedy.
Synonyms
- Lament: A passionate expression of grief or sorrow.
- Elegy: A poem of serious reflection, typically a lament for the dead.
- Requiem: A Mass for the repose of the souls of the dead, or a musical composition for such a mass.
- Funeral hymn: A song sung at a funeral.
Related Phrases
- To sing a dirge: To perform such a mournful song.
- The mourners gathered to sing a dirge for their leader.
- A dirge for...: Used to title or describe a work lamenting a specific subject.
- He composed "A Dirge for the Drowned City."
Related Idioms
- Sound like a dirge: To be excessively slow, sad, or depressing.
- Stop playing that piece so slowly; it sounds like a dirge.
Noun
- a song or hymn of mourning composed or performed as a memorial to a dead person