Definition

Noun: 1. A ceremony for a dead person: A formal gathering or service held to honor and remember a person who has died, typically involving the burial or cremation of the body. 2. The procession or group attending such a ceremony: The group of people, including family and friends, who gather for this ceremony.

Usage

• The word "funeral" is a countable noun.
• It is used to refer to the specific event or ceremony associated with a death.
• It is often modified by a possessive (e.g., , ) or by an adjective (e.g., , ).

Examples

• Noun:
  • The funeral will be held at the local church on Friday.
  • She delivered a moving eulogy at her grandfather's funeral.
  • Hundreds of mourners followed the funeral procession to the cemetery.

Advanced Usage

• "It's your funeral" (idiom, informal): Used to warn someone that if they proceed with a foolish or risky action, they alone will suffer the negative consequences.
  • If you want to quit your job without another one lined up, it's your funeral.

Variants and Related Words

• Funereal (adjective): Having the solemn or mournful quality associated with a funeral; dismal, gloomy.
  • The abandoned house had a funereal silence.
• Funeral director (noun): A person whose job is to manage the preparation for a funeral and burial or cremation; an undertaker.
• Funeral home / Funeral parlor (noun): A business that provides services related to funerals, such as preparing the body and organizing the ceremony.

Synonyms

• Burial: The act or ceremony of putting a dead body in a grave. (Focuses on the interment).
• Memorial service: A ceremony held to remember and honor someone who has died, often without the body present.
• Interment: A formal word for burial.
• Last rites: Religious ceremonies performed for a person who is about to or has just died.

Related Phrases

• Funeral pyre: A pile of wood on which a dead body is burned in some cultures.
• Funeral march: A slow, solemn piece of music, like a march, suitable for a funeral procession.

Noun

1. a ceremony at which a dead person is buried or cremated
   • hundreds of people attended his funeral