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funereal

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

English

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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From Middle French funerail, from Latin funereus +‎ -al.

Pronunciation

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Adjective

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funereal (comparative more funereal, superlative most funereal)

  1. Of or relating to a funeral.
    Synonym: funerary
  2. (figurative) Similar to or befitting the mood or elements of a funeral: slow; black colors; formal; dignified or solemn.
    • 1786, [William Beckford], translated by [Samuel Henley], An Arabian Tale, from an Unpublished Manuscript: [] [Vathek], London: [] J[oseph] Johnson, [], →OCLC, page 196:
      A funereal gloom prevailed over the whole ſcene.
    • 1918, Jeffery Farnol, Our Admirable Betty[1]:
      "Sounds curst funereal, Zeb! O my poor nunky! Go fetch 'em, Sergeant, and let me see 'em—'twill distress and pain me I know but—go fetch 'em!"
    • 1931, H. P. Lovecraft, chapter 6, in The Whisperer in Darkness:
      There was something menacing and uncomfortable in the funereal stillness, in the muffled, subtle trickle of distant brooks, and in the crowding green peaks and black-wooded precipices that choked the narrow horizon.

Derived terms

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Translations

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