1
: the observances held for a dead person usually before burial or cremation
2
chiefly dialectal
: a funeral sermon
3
: a funeral procession
4
: an end of something's existence
5
: a matter of concern to one : worry
if you flunk, it's your funeral
Synonyms
Examples of funeral in a Sentence
Adjective
a slow and heavy funeral song
Noun
Only family attended the funeral.
His funeral will be held on Friday.
His cousin made the funeral arrangements.
Recent Examples on the Web
Marco Rubio, Newsweek, 1 Nov. 2024
The funeral banner features a typical mix of Lebanese faces, making up three generations of a Shiite Muslim family that lived for decades in this predominantly Christian area north of Beirut.
—Scott Peterson, The Christian Science Monitor, 29 Oct. 2024
Ellise Shafer, Variety, 1 Nov. 2024
Five or six missiles had hit a neighboring house where a funeral was under way, killing one of the family’s neighbors and injuring about 60 others.
—Robert F. Worth, The Atlantic, 31 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for funeral 
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Adjective
The deceased who are buried at the site would likely have been burnt on funeral pyres.
—Marco Rubio, Newsweek, 1 Nov. 2024
The funeral banner features a typical mix of Lebanese faces, making up three generations of a Shiite Muslim family that lived for decades in this predominantly Christian area north of Beirut.
—Scott Peterson, The Christian Science Monitor, 29 Oct. 2024
Noun
Finn Keane is holding a funeral for himself — or for his pseudonym, anyway.
—Ellise Shafer, Variety, 1 Nov. 2024
Five or six missiles had hit a neighboring house where a funeral was under way, killing one of the family’s neighbors and injuring about 60 others.
—Robert F. Worth, The Atlantic, 31 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for funeral
Dictionary Entries Near funeral
Cite this Entry
“Funeral.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/funeral. Accessed 25 Nov. 2024.
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