Meaning & use
passed away
Last updated
“passed away” is a form of “pass away”. See that entry for the full set of meanings.
Meanings
verbphrasal verbeuphemistic
Died, said in a gentle and respectful way, especially when speaking to people who are grieving.
Grammar: No object: he passed away last week. Passed is the past tense of pass away.
Patterns
- someone passed away
- someone passed away peacefully
My grandmother passed away peacefully in her sleep.
I am sorry to tell you that his father passed away on Sunday.
The famous singer passed away at the age of ninety.
verbphrasal verbliterary
Ended gradually or disappeared, said of an era, a feeling or a custom.
Grammar: No object; the subject is a thing, not a person: the era passed away.
Patterns
- something passed away
The old customs passed away as the village grew into a town.
Her anger slowly passed away.
The golden age of steam trains has passed away.
Word forms
| base form | pass away |
|---|---|
| third person singular | passes away |
| past tense | passed away |
| present participle | passing away |
Common combinations
- passed away peacefully
- He passed away peacefully at home.
- passed away suddenly
- She passed away suddenly last spring.
- passed away last week
- Their neighbor passed away last week.
- recently passed away
- My uncle recently passed away, so we are all travelling to the funeral.
- passed away at the age of
- The author passed away at the age of eighty-two.
Synonyms and how they differ
- died
- Died is direct and neutral and suits news and formal reports, while passed away is softer and more sympathetic.
- passed on
- Passed on is similar in softness but sounds slightly more traditional and can be confused with other meanings.
- departed
- Departed is more formal and often religious or literary, usually used in the phrase the departed.
- perished
- Perished suggests a violent or tragic death in a disaster, unlike the quiet tone of passed away.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: passed away or passed out? passed away or past away?
passed away vs passed out
Passed out means fainted, not died, so it is not a polite way to say someone died.
passed away vs past away
This is a common misspelling; the verb is passed, not past.
Practice
Which sentence correctly uses the gentle phrase for died?
Choose one answer.
Passed away is the correct polite phrase for died. Past is a wrong spelling, and passed out means fainted.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “passed away”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.