deceased 1 of 3

adjective

di-ˈsēst How to pronounce deceased (audio)
Definition of deceasednext
as in dead
no longer living the recently deceased tenant was found by a concerned neighbor

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

deceased

2 of 3

noun

as in decedent

Synonyms & Similar Words

deceased

3 of 3

verb

past tense of decease
as in died
to stop living no one knows what happened to the family fortune after the spinster deceased

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Synonym Chooser

How does the adjective deceased contrast with its synonyms?

Some common synonyms of deceased are dead, defunct, departed, and late. While all these words mean "devoid of life," deceased, departed, and late apply to persons who have died recently. deceased is the preferred term in legal use.

the estate of the deceased

Where would dead be a reasonable alternative to deceased?

While in some cases nearly identical to deceased, dead applies literally to what is deprived of vital force but is used figuratively of anything that has lost any attribute (such as energy, activity, radiance) suggesting life.

a dead, listless performance

When is defunct a more appropriate choice than deceased?

The meanings of defunct and deceased largely overlap; however, defunct stresses cessation of active existence or operation.

a defunct television series

When could departed be used to replace deceased?

The words departed and deceased can be used in similar contexts, but departed is used usually as a euphemism.

our departed sister

When is it sensible to use late instead of deceased?

Although the words late and deceased have much in common, late is used especially with reference to a person in a specific relation or status.

the company's late president

Examples Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of deceased
Adjective
Live Donors While most donations came from deceased donors, about four in ten were from live donors last year. —Kelly Phillips Erb, Forbes, 20 Nov. 2024 That last work is a room-size installation that lists the names of 262 deceased men and women next to a neon sign that reads a dream, invoking a poem by Langston Hughes. —Andy Battaglia, ARTnews.com, 20 Nov. 2024
Noun
GEDMatch is one of the databases used by the DNA Doe project, a non-profit that works to name the deceased who remain unidentified. —Crimesider Staff, CBS News, 27 Apr. 2018 See all Example Sentences for deceased 
Recent Examples of Synonyms for deceased
  1. dead
  2. decedent
  3. died
  4. corpse
  5. perished
  6. late
  7. fell
  8. departed
Adjective
  • Allen, 52, is accused of killing two teens who went missing Feb. 13, 2017, and were found dead the next day.
    Ron Wilkins, The Indianapolis Star, 20 Nov. 2024
  • Riley was found dead from blunt force trauma, after Ibarra disfigured her face, per authorities.
    Samira Asma-Sadeque, People.com, 20 Nov. 2024
Definition of dead
Noun
  • The foreign earned income exclusion will be $130,000, while estates of decedents who die in 2025 will have basic exclusion amount of $13.99 million.
    Kamaron McNair, CNBC, 22 Oct. 2024
  • Federal Estate & Gift Tax The federal estate tax exclusion for decedents dying will increase to $13,990,000 per person (up from $13,610,000 in 2024) or $27,980,000 per married couple in 2025.
    Kelly Phillips Erb, Forbes, 22 Oct. 2024
Definition of decedent
Verb
  • Helene has wreaked havoc on Zara's neighborhood and the wider county, where at least 72 people have died.
    Morgan Norwood, ABC News, 4 Oct. 2024
  • Reach out to Social Security and alert them that your spouse has died.
    Next Avenue, Forbes, 4 Oct. 2024
Definition of died
Noun
  • Case closed, with what’s left of Sofia’s car and Sal Maroni’s whole corpse lying in the rubble for good measure.
    Andy Andersen, Vulture, 10 Nov. 2024
  • The sight of Till’s mutilated and decomposed corpse at his open-casket funeral galvanized the civil-rights movement.
    Paige Williams, The New Yorker, 3 Nov. 2024
Definition of corpse
Verb
  • Onboard the vessel were British prisoners-of-war and over 800 British troops perished during the incident.
    Sara Merican, Deadline, 30 Sep. 2024
  • Two American women and two Sherpa guides perished while racing for a record.
    Dario DiGiulio, Outside Online, 26 Sep. 2024
Definition of perished
Adjective
  • Now, watch Brooke Shields style her classic bombshell hair: Shop all of our latest obsessions in one place!
    Annie Blackman, Allure, 23 Nov. 2024
  • After all, she's known Jason and Kylie Kelce for nearly a year, having met the couple for the first time at Travis Kelce's playoff game against the Buffalo Bills in late January.
    Emily Tannenbaum, Glamour, 23 Nov. 2024
Definition of late
Verb
  • There, along the North Platte River in what is now Wyoming, the animal was felled by the arrow of a warrior named High Forehead, who may have been hungry.
    Tim Madigan, Smithsonian Magazine, 22 Oct. 2024
  • The story claimed that two loggers felled a hollow tree and were shocked to find a body inside.
    Emilie Le Beau Lucchesi, Discover Magazine, 7 Oct. 2024
Definition of fell
Adjective
  • These spirits not only provide a thoughtful toast to the departed but also serve as a reminder of Mexico’s deep traditions and reverence for the past.
    Rachel King, Forbes, 1 Nov. 2024
  • Joining the core trio of Corgan, Iha and Chamberlin were bassist Jack Bates and guitarist Kiki Wong, who famously won the post from the departed Jeff Schroeder after a public casting call of more than 10,000.
    Melissa Ruggieri, USA TODAY, 30 July 2024
Definition of departed

Thesaurus Entries Near deceased

decease

deceased

deceases

See More Nearby Entries 

Cite this Entry

“Deceased.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/deceased. Accessed 28 Nov. 2024.

Copy Citation

Share

More from Merriam-Webster on deceased

Nglish: Translation of deceased for Spanish Speakers

Britannica English: Translation of deceased for Arabic Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See All

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)

Plural and Possessive Names: A Guide

The Difference Between 'i.e.' and 'e.g.'

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?
See All

Popular in Wordplay

See All

Terroir, Oenophile, & Magnum: Ten Words About Wine

8 Words for Lesser-Known Musical Instruments

10 Words from Taylor Swift Songs (Merriam's Version)

9 Superb Owl Words

15 Words That Used to Mean Something Different
See All

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Word Game Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
little chihuahua dressing like a turkey for thanksgiving
Is That Gratitude or Attitude? A Thanksgiving Quiz Decide which words express gratitude and which gi...