Meaning & use
sepulcher
Last updated
Meaning
nouncountableformalliterary
A small room or vault used for burial, often built into a wall or cut from rock.
Grammar: Countable; can be used with 'a' or in the plural.
Patterns
- a sepulcher for someone
- in a sepulcher
The ancient kings were buried in a rock-cut sepulcher.
They discovered a hidden sepulcher beneath the church.
The sepulcher was sealed with a heavy stone.
Word forms
| plural | sepulchers |
|---|
Common combinations
- ancient sepulcher
- The ancient sepulcher had been looted long ago.
- rock-cut sepulcher
- The rock-cut sepulcher is a popular tourist site.
- family sepulcher
- The family sepulcher holds the remains of several generations.
Synonyms and how they differ
Word family
- sepulchral adjective
- Relating to tombs or burial; gloomy.
Commonly confused: sepulcher or sepulchre?
sepulcher vs sepulchre
The British spelling; 'sepulcher' is the American spelling.
Practice
Which word is the everyday equivalent of 'sepulcher'?
Choose one answer.
'Tomb' is the common word for a burial structure. A church is a building for worship, a crypt is a specific underground room (often under a church), and a cemetery is a burial ground.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “sepulcher”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.