Meaning & use
an obituary
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“an obituary” is a form of “obituary”. See that entry for the full set of meanings.
Meaning
nouncountableformal
A piece of writing, especially in a newspaper, that reports someone's death and describes their life.
Grammar: Countable: 'an obituary', 'two obituaries'. Often followed by 'of' or 'for'.
Patterns
- an obituary of someone
- an obituary for someone
- write an obituary
- read an obituary
The newspaper published a long obituary of the former mayor.
I read an obituary for a writer I admired.
She wrote an obituary for her grandfather in the local paper.
Word forms
| plural | obituaries |
|---|
Common combinations
- write an obituary
- The editor asked her to write an obituary for the famous scientist.
- publish an obituary
- The magazine published an obituary of the artist last week.
- read an obituary
- He was surprised to read his own obituary in the paper.
- obituary column
- The obituary column listed several well-known names.
Synonyms and how they differ
- death notice
- A short, usually paid announcement of a death, often with funeral details, not a full article.
- eulogy
- A speech or piece of writing that praises someone who has died, often given at a funeral.
Word family
- obituarist noun
- A person who writes obituaries.
Commonly confused: an obituary or obituary?
an obituary vs obituary
Not to be confused with 'obituary' meaning a death notice; it is different from 'eulogy', which is a speech of praise.
Practice
Where would you most likely find an obituary?
Choose one answer.
An obituary is a news article about someone's death and life, so it appears in a newspaper. A cookbook, dictionary, and phone book do not contain such articles.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “an obituary”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.