Meaning & use
burial ceremony
Last updated
Meanings
nouncountable
A formal service held when a dead person's body is buried in the ground or a tomb.
Grammar: Countable: 'a burial ceremony', 'two burial ceremonies'.
Patterns
- hold a burial ceremony
- attend a burial ceremony
- a burial ceremony for someone
The family held a simple burial ceremony at the village church.
Hundreds of people attended the burial ceremony for the former mayor.
In some cultures, the burial ceremony includes prayers, music and a shared meal.
nouncountable
The whole set of traditional actions and rituals that surround burying someone.
Grammar: Often used in the plural when talking about customs: 'burial ceremonies vary across cultures'.
Patterns
- traditional burial ceremony
- burial ceremonies vary
- take part in a burial ceremony
The anthropologist studied burial ceremonies in different regions.
Their burial ceremony lasted three days and involved the whole community.
Word forms
| plural | burial ceremonies |
|---|
Common combinations
- hold a burial ceremony
- They will hold a burial ceremony next Tuesday.
- attend a burial ceremony
- Only close relatives attended the burial ceremony.
- a traditional burial ceremony
- The traditional burial ceremony was led by village elders.
- a private burial ceremony
- The family chose a private burial ceremony.
Synonyms and how they differ
- funeral
- A funeral is the whole event, including any service, procession and burial or cremation; a burial ceremony is specifically the service connected with burying the body.
- interment
- A formal word for the act of burying a body; it is more technical and less common than 'burial ceremony'.
- graveside service
- A short ceremony held at the grave itself, often part of a larger funeral.
Opposites
Word family
- bury verb
- To put a dead body in the ground or a tomb.
- burial noun
- The act or occasion of burying a dead person.
- ceremonial adjective
- Relating to formal ceremonies.
Commonly confused: burial ceremony or funeral?
burial ceremony vs funeral
A funeral can include a burial ceremony, but it also covers services before burial and cremation ceremonies. Use 'burial ceremony' only when the body is buried.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'burial ceremony' most naturally?
Choose one answer.
'Burial ceremony' fits a service connected with burying a body, so option 0 is natural. Option 1 is wrong because a crematorium is for cremation, not burial; option 2 is wrong because burial ceremonies are not held at a birthplace; option 3 is wrong because a burial ceremony is solemn, not a happy party.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “burial ceremony”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.