obituaries

Noun

obituary (plural obituaries)

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.
   • [N]ot one in fifty of the actual disasters and deaths by casualties in the fishery, ever finds a public record at home, however transient and immediately forgotten that record. Do you suppose that that poor fellow there, who this moment perhaps caught by the whale-line off the coast of New Guinea...1851 November 14, Herman Melville, “The Affidavit”, in Moby-Dick; or, The Whale, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers; London: Richard Bentley, →OCLC, page 228

   Synonyms:

   obit

2. (broadly) 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?"2001 September 13, Marc Klein, Serendipity, spoken by Dean Kansky (Jeremy Piven)
3. (figuratively) An 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.2023 August 7, Suzanne Wrack, “England beat Nigeria on penalties to reach Women's World Cup quarter-finals”, in Katharine Viner, editor, The Guardian, London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC...
4. (historical) A register of deaths, especially one maintained by a religious institution; a necrology.

See all 5 meanings of obituary