Meaning & use
last rites
Last updated
Meanings
nounpluralreligion
A religious ceremony of prayers and blessings given to a dying person, especially in the Catholic Church.
Grammar: Plural in form: the last rites were given. Can be used with 'the' or 'his/her'.
Patterns
- give someone the last rites
- receive the last rites
The priest was called to give the old man the last rites.
She received the last rites before she passed away.
The village chaplain stayed with the family to perform the last rites.
nounpluralfigurative
A final act or sign that something is about to end or fail, said in a figurative way.
Grammar: Often in 'read the last rites' or 'administer the last rites' to something.
Patterns
- read the last rites over something
Critics read the last rites for the old theater after the third failed season.
Some analysts were ready to give the last rites to the company.
Common combinations
- administer the last rites
- The chaplain was asked to administer the last rites.
- receive the last rites
- He received the last rites in the hospital chapel.
- give someone the last rites
- The priest gave the soldier the last rites.
- call for a priest to give the last rites
- The family called for a priest to give the last rites.
- read the last rites
- Commentators read the last rites for the old industry.
Synonyms and how they differ
- extreme unction
- Extreme unction is the older Catholic name for the anointing of the sick, and sounds archaic today.
- anointing of the sick
- This is the current formal Catholic name for the sacrament, and it can also be given to people who are ill but not dying.
- final blessing
- A final blessing is a general phrase and does not point to a specific ceremony.
- funeral rites
- Funeral rites happen after a death, whereas last rites are given before or as someone dies.
Word family
- rite noun
- a solemn religious or social ceremony
- ritual noun
- a set series of actions performed in a fixed way
- sacrament noun
- a religious ceremony seen as holy
- ritualistic adjective
- done in a fixed ceremonial way
Commonly confused: last rites or last writes?
last rites vs last writes
Rites, meaning ceremonies, is spelled differently from writes, the verb for putting words on paper, and right, meaning correct.
Practice
A priest was called to give the dying man the ____.
Choose one answer.
Last rites is the fixed phrase for the religious ceremony given to the dying. The other options are wrong spellings or unnatural wording.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “last rites”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.