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Meaning & use

cremains

noun·AdvancedAmericaneuphemistic

Last updated

UK/krɪˈmeɪnz/
US/krɪˈmeɪnz/

Meaning

  1. nounpluralAmericaneuphemistic

    The ashes and small bone fragments left after a body has been cremated.

    Grammar: Plural in form and usually used with a plural verb: the cremains were returned.

    Patterns

    • scatter someone's cremains
    • the cremains of someone

    The family scattered his cremains at the lake he loved.

    The funeral home returned the cremains in a simple box.

    Her cremains were placed in the family plot.

Common combinations

scatter cremains
They scattered the cremains from a boat.
bury the cremains
They buried the cremains under an oak tree.
urn for cremains
He chose an urn for the cremains.
store the cremains
The family stored the cremains at home.
cremains and casket
Costs differ between cremains and casket burial.

Synonyms and how they differ

ashes
Ashes is the common everyday word, while cremains is a professional industry term.
remains
Remains is general for any body left after death, not only cremated.
cremated remains
Cremated remains is the plain two-word version of cremains and is more widely understood.

Word family

cremate verb
to burn a dead body to ashes
cremation noun
the act of cremating a body
crematorium noun
a place where bodies are cremated
remains noun
what is left of a body

Commonly confused: cremains or cremain?

cremains vs cremain

People sometimes write cremain for one item, but the word is almost always used in plural form.

Practice

After the service, the family chose to scatter the ____ at sea.

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