noun

obituary

uh-BIHT-shuu-ree

noun

A published notice of someone's death, often with a summary of their life, usually appearing in a newspaper.

"His obituary described his decades of charity work."

"The newspaper's obituary section ran three columns that day."

How to Use Obituary

Learner’s notes

In plain EnglishA write-up marking someone's death, usually summarising their life.

Common pairings

write an obituary obituary section read the obituaries

more obituary comparative, obituaries plural, most obituary superlative

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His _____ described his decades of charity work.

From Medieval Latin obituarius, built on Latin obitus ("death, a going down") plus the suffix -arius.

vary Mary nary wary Gary Cary diary ovary weary scary teary deary