Synonyms and antonyms of Funerals and burial in British Thesaurus

a letter/message/book of condolence ()

a letter that you write or a book that you write in to show that you are sorry that someone has died

ashes (noun)

the substance that remains after a person’s body has been cremated (=burned after death)

bier (noun)

a wooden structure for putting a coffin (=a container for a dead body) on

box (noun)

informal a coffin for a dead body

burial (noun)

the process of putting a dead body into a grave in the ground at a funeral

burial at sea ()

a funeral ceremony that takes place on a ship, in which the dead person’s body is dropped into the sea

bury (verb)

to put someone’s dead body in the ground during a funeral ceremony

casket (noun)

mainly American a coffin for a dead body

coffin (noun)

a long box in which a dead person is buried

cortège (noun)

a line of people and cars taking part in a funeral

cremains (noun)

Americaninformal ashes that are left after cremation

cremate (verb)

to burn the body of a dead person

crematorium (noun)

a building where the bodies of dead people are cremated

dirge (noun)

a slow sad song often sung at a funeral

disinter (verb)

to dig a dead body out of the ground

embalm (verb)

to preserve a dead body using chemicals. A person who does this as a job is called an embalmer.

entomb (verb)

literary to put a dead person in a tomb (=an underground room)

epitaph (noun)

a short piece of writing that honours a dead person, especially one written on their grave

eulogy (noun)

a speech at a funeral about the person who has died

executor (noun)

someone who arranges for the instructions of a dead person’s will to be followed

executrix (noun)

a woman who arranges for the instructions of a dead person's will to be followed

exhume (verb)

formal to remove a dead person’s body from where it is buried, especially in order to find out how they died

funeral (noun)

a ceremony that takes place after someone dies, usually including a religious ceremony, and the formal process of taking the body to the place where it is buried or cremated

funeral (noun)

relating to a funeral

funeral director (noun)

American an undertaker

funeral home (noun)

a place where the body of a dead person is prepared and kept before the funeral, and where relatives and friends may go to see it

funerary (adjective)

formal relating to funerals or graves

gravedigger (noun)

someone whose job is to dig graves

in state ()

if an important person who has died lies in state or is buried in state, they receive a formal public funeral

inter (verb)

formal to bury a dead person

interment (noun)

formal the act of burying a dead person

lay out ()

to prepare a dead body so that people can come to see it before it is buried

lay someone to rest ()

to bury someone’s body in a ceremony after they have died

lie (verb)

formal used for saying where someone is buried

lie in state ()

if the dead body of an important person lies in state, it is put in a public place for people to go and look at

morgue (noun)

a building or room where dead bodies are kept temporarily

mortician (noun)

Americanformal someone whose job is to arrange funerals. The British word is undertaker.

mortuary (noun)

British a morgue

mortuary (noun)

British a place where a dead body is kept

mortuary (noun)

American a place where a dead body is kept and prepared for a funeral

mourner (noun)

someone who is at a funeral, especially a relative or close friend of the dead person

mourning (noun)

the process or ceremony of expressing great sadness because someone has died

mummify (verb)

to preserve a dead body by treating it with special oils and wrapping it in long narrow pieces of cloth to prevent it from decaying

obsequies (noun)

very formal a funeral ceremony

pall (noun)

a coffin

pall (noun)

a thick cloth used for covering a coffin

pallbearer (noun)

someone who helps to carry a coffin at a funeral

pay your respects (to someone) ()

to go to someone’s funeral

pyre (noun)

a high pile of wood for burning a dead body in a funeral ceremony

repose (verb)

literary to be buried in a particular place

rest (verb)

a word meaning to be buried somewhere, used when you think it will upset someone if you say this word

sarcophagus (noun)

a stone box, used in some ancient cultures for putting a dead body in

shroud (noun)

a piece of cloth that is wrapped around a dead body before it is buried

shroud (verb)

to wrap a dead body in a piece of cloth

slab (noun)

a large flat surface that a dead person is laid on in a mortuary

undertaker (noun)

someone whose job is to make arrangements for funerals

undertaking (noun)

formal the business of an undertaker

urn (noun)

a container for the ashes of a dead person after the body has been burnt

wake (noun)

a meeting of friends and relations before or after a funeral to remember the person who died

winding sheet (noun)

a piece of cloth that a dead person is wrapped in before they are buried

wreath (noun)

a circle of flowers or leaves that you put on a grave to show that you are remembering the dead person