burial

noun

ˈber-ē-əl How to pronounce burial (audio)
Definition of burialnext
1
as in funeral
the act or ceremony of putting a dead body in its final resting place the children wanted to give the dead bird a proper burial in the backyard

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in tomb
a final resting place for a dead person archaeologically significant artifacts, such as stone tools, have been discovered in Neanderthal burials

Synonyms & Similar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of burial The remains from 77 previously unknown burials were being stored in a secure facility, UC Davis Health officials said. — Darrell Smith, Sacbee.com, 30 Sep. 2026 As grief turns to accusation, Warmooge’s mother refuses burial without justice, and the village fractures under the weight of uncertainty and pressure to resolve the truth. — Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 25 Sep. 2026 The Palmyra relief—a soaring limestone sculpture depicting a reclining man attended by women and children—was created for a burial chamber in the late 2nd century CE. — Tessa Solomon, ARTnews.com, 24 Sep. 2026 Plus, the skeleton’s burial inside the castle suggests the siege continued for some time after his death—and once the War Wolf did its thing, the siege was over. — Popular Science Team, Popular Science, 23 Sep. 2026 See All Example Sentences for burial
Recent Examples of Synonyms for burial
  1. funeral
  2. tomb
  3. interment
  4. grave
  5. entombment
  6. cemetery
  7. burying
Noun
  • Flynn received credit for 229 days already spent in jail and was ordered to pay $20,000 in restitution for funeral expenses, along with court costs.
    — Greg Wehner, FOXNews.com, 5 Oct. 2026
  • Friends, including Muslims, and relatives gathered at the Saint Porphyrius Church in Gaza City to pay their respects during the funeral of the Christian mother and daughter.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 4 Oct. 2026
Definition of funeral
Noun
  • But there is very little archaeological evidence available, given that many of the earliest Egyptian tombs were plundered and/or hastily excavated.
    — Jennifer Ouellette, ArsTechnica, 5 Oct. 2026
  • Surviving Etruscan painted tombs in towns such as Tarquinia, Chiusi and Orvieto are known for their dynamic scenes of music, feasting and the afterlife.
    — Jacqueline Ortoleva, Scientific American, 3 Oct. 2026
Definition of tomb
Noun
  • The horse’s intact body and the pieces of a decorative harness found with it suggest a deliberate and perhaps honorific interment.
    — Anne Doran, ARTnews.com, 18 Sep. 2026
  • In their home state, dates of observation extend through the day of interment.
    — Sarah Linn, Sacbee.com, 15 July 2026
Definition of interment
Noun
  • Eventually the quilt grew to include 1,920 panels, each measuring 3 feet by 6 feet, the same size as a grave.
    — René Ostberg, Encyclopedia Britannica, 2 Oct. 2026
  • Scientist Ada Franklin is working on a prototype for human-angel communication—only to wake up in her own grave, inexplicably killed and resurrected.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 1 Oct. 2026
Definition of grave
Noun
  • The snow eventually hardens like a concrete entombment.
    — Ray Sanchez, CNN Money, 21 Feb. 2026
  • City and county governments set local rules covering burials, inurnments, entombments and the upkeep of cemeteries, mausoleums and columbariums, according to state law.
    — Angela Rodriguez, Sacbee.com, 31 Oct. 2025
Definition of entombment
Noun
  • This decline is often captured sentimentally in memoirs about the Jewish South of a bygone era or photographs of Jewish cemeteries in various states of disrepair.
    — Ashley Walters, The Conversation, 30 Sep. 2026
  • Historical and archaeological investigations showed the area overlapped with the site of the former Sacramento County Hospital cemetery, which operated from the 1880s to the 1920s, officials said.
    — Darrell Smith, Sacbee.com, 30 Sep. 2026
Definition of cemetery
Noun
  • One such detail is the prospect of a Gallagher-brothers-style burying of the hatchet for Harry and Prince William.
    — Jamie Timson, TheWeek, 21 Aug. 2026
  • Eaton wildfire survivors’ anger about Southern California Edison’s burying of electric wires in Altadena boiled over Tuesday with residents calling on government officials to temporarily halt the work.
    — Melody Petersen, Los Angeles Times, 22 Apr. 2026
Definition of burying

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Cite this Entry

“Burial.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/burial. Accessed 9 Oct. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on burial

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about burial

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