obituary
nounadjectiveattested in dialogue
- United Kingdom//əˈbɪt͡ʃʊ(ə)ɹi//
- United Kingdom//əˈbɪt͡ʃɹi//
- United Kingdom//əˈbɪtjʊ(ə)ɹi//
- United Kingdom//əʊ-//
- United States//əˈbɪt͡ʃəˌwɛɹi//
A brief notice of a person's death, especially one published in a newspaper or other publication; also (obsolete), the section of a newspaper where notices of deaths are published.
noun
- 1
A brief notice of a person's death, especially one published in a newspaper or other publication; also (obsolete), the section of a newspaper where notices of deaths are published.
The newspaper came in, as usual, after breakfast. I looked it over, and discovered this memorable entry, among the obituary announcements of the day:— "On the 29th inst., at Brighton, Michael Vanstone, Esq., formerly of Zurich, aged 77."
“You want to know the ironic thing? I wrote my son’s obituary using ChatGPT,” Mr. Taylor said.
- 2
A brief biography of a person (especially one who is well-known) who has recently died, usually describing their life and achievements, particularly in the form of an article in a news publication or an item in a news broadcast.
You know the Greeks didn't write obituaries. They only asked one question after a man died: "Did he have passion?"
- 3
figurativeAn announcement or description of the end of something.
Mouths were agape on the announcement of England's starting lineup, the return of Keira Walsh appearing miraculous 10 days after she left the pitch on a stretcher in agony. Walsh’s World Cup obituaries were written; she was England's most valuable player, irreplaceable.
- 4
historicalA register of deaths, especially one maintained by a religious institution; a necrology.
Etymology
PIE word *h₁epi Learned borrowing from Medieval Latin obituārius (“obituary”) + English -ary (suffix denoting something relating to another thing or used in a place). Obituārius is derived from Latin obitus (“act of approaching or going toward, an approach; act of going down, setting; of the sun: sunset; death; destruction, downfall, ruin”) + -ārius (suffix forming adjectives and agent nouns); while obitus is a noun use of the perfect passive participle of obeō (“to go to meet, go towards; (figurative) to die, pass away, perish; (astronomy) to set”), from ob- (prefix meaning ‘toward’) + eō (“to go, move”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₁ey- (“to go”).
adjective
- 1
Relating to obituaries.
He is the paper's obituary editor.
Forms
- plural
- obituaries
- comparative
- more obituary
- superlative
- most obituary
obituary · A brief notice of a person's death, especially one published in a newspaper or other publication; also (obsolete), the section of a newspaper where…
object · A thing that has physical existence but is not alive.objection · The act of objecting.objective · Of or relating to a material object, actual existence or…