Definition

1. 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

1. a song or hymn of mourning composed or performed as a memorial to a dead person