What is another word for death?
In its most common and literal senses,
death refers to the
end of life—the state of no longer being alive; to the process of
dying (
a prolonged death); or to the instance of a person dying (
His death was tragic). A somewhat formal (and blunt) synonym is
demise. The word
expiration is sometimes used, but usually sounds a bit literary or old-fashioned. The word
end is sometimes used similarly, as in
He finally met his end. The word
decease can be used as a noun meaning the same thing as
death, but its adjective form
deceased (meaning
dead) is much more common. Words for
death used in formal, official contexts include
fatality and
casualty. In the context of crime, different types of
death (and their causes) are given specific classifications, such as
homicide and
murder. In terms like
death and destruction,
death refers to wide-scale
loss of life. In a broader scientific context, the
death of an entire species is called
extinction. In contrast with those who view
death as the start of the
afterlife (sometimes called
the other side), some people view
death as
nonexistence or
annihilation. Or, more dramatically,
oblivion.
Death is sometimes used as the name for the personification of
death, also called the
Grim Reaper (or just the
Reaper),
Pale Death, or the
Angel of Death. The state of being subject to
death is called
mortality.
Death is also sometimes used
figuratively to mean the end of something, as in
The failure of the bill was seen as the death of tax reform. And speaking of taxes, they are said to be the only thing as
certain as death. For euphemisms and slang terms for death, see the next section.
What are some euphemisms for death?
Like other sensitive topics, there are many
euphemisms for
death (indirect, gentler, and less blunt ways of referring to it). Perhaps the most common euphemistic way of talking about a person’s
death is to refer to it as their
passing. Relatedly,
pass,
pass away, and
pass on are all euphemisms for
die. Taken literally, these terms can suggest that a person has
passed over to the afterlife. In the context of
mourning someone’s
death, it’s often referred to as a
loss. Many euphemisms for
death liken it to
sleep, including
final repose,
final rest,
eternal rest, and
eternal sleep. There are also many, many slang terms used in the context of
death. Many are metaphorical and whimsical, such as
the end of the line or
the great gig in the sky. In a similarly irreverent tone, dying is sometimes called
kicking the bucket (which is the basis of the term
bucket list),
biting the dust,
buying the farm, or
cashing in one’s chips, among other things. Religiously oriented expressions include
go to glory,
go to one’s reward, and
meet one’s maker, which suggests an afterlife like those envisioned in many religions, in which a person’s
death is followed by judgment by a deity. A more earthly way of referring to
death is with the term the
grave, as in
It drove him to the grave, or with phrases that use the word
grave, as in
an early grave.
