elegy

noun

ˈe-lə-jē How to pronounce elegy (audio)
Definition of elegynext
as in lament
a composition expressing one's grief over a loss "O Captain! My Captain!" is Walt Whitman's elegy on the death of President Lincoln

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example 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 elegy Tell, yell, hell, hello, elegy, tottle, otology, geology, theology. — John McPhee, The New Yorker, 13 Jan. 2025 Worm’s visualization of his collection, then, is an unwitting elegy of species pushed to the brink of existence by human pressures. — The Editors, JSTOR Daily, 8 Jan. 2025 Windy and warm today with showers developing ‘Reduced to dust’: An elegy for Gazan life Biden, congressional leaders sound optimistic on funding government How the Auto Train became one of Amtrak’s most profitable routes The economy is roaring. — Washington Post, 27 Feb. 2024 Streams of information flow into and over each other in an elegy about who was who, and when, and why. — Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 6 Dec. 2024 See All Example Sentences for elegy
Recent Examples of Synonyms for elegy
  1. lament
  2. dirge
  3. requiem
Noun
  • Prominent among these are baseless critiques of the NAEP itself (lauded as the gold standard of achievement measures) and a lament that the science of reading — recently endorsed by more than 40 states — has failed.
    — Chicago Tribune, Chicago Tribune, 6 Apr. 2025
  • In classical terms, this begins as an Adagio in D minor — a slow lament led by a solo cello, that accelerates into a chaotic swell of strings.
    — Kristen S. Hé, Vulture, 19 Mar. 2025
Definition of lament
Noun
  • Returnal Returnal was one of the first exclusives of the PS5 generation; a fabulously grotesque sci-fi horror dirge, and still worth your attention today.
    — Luke Winkie, Vulture, 1 Apr. 2025
  • When the relatives begin to arrive, crawling in on their knees, droning a dirge about death, Shula promptly departs for a hotel, pink suitcase in tow.
    — Namwali Serpell, The New Yorker, 25 Mar. 2025
Definition of dirge
Noun
  • Whether a requiem is due for rom-coms or not, in the meantime there's at least a conveyor belt of cringe to feast upon.
    — Anna Kaufman, USA TODAY, 6 Mar. 2025
  • The funeral procession begins with a sorrowful requiem but transitions into a celebration of life — reminding us that life extends beyond death, that grief is not the absence of love but an extension of it.
    — Mathew Holloway, San Diego Union-Tribune, 23 Feb. 2025
Definition of requiem

Browse Nearby Words

elegizing
elegy
element
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Cite this Entry

“Elegy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/elegy. Accessed 14 Apr. 2025.

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More from Merriam-Webster on elegy

Nglish: Translation of elegy for Spanish Speakers

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about elegy

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