funereal

adjective

fu·​ne·​re·​al fyu̇-ˈnir-ē-əl 

1

: of or relating to a funeral

2

: befitting or suggesting a funeral (as in solemnity)

funereally

fyu̇-ˈnir-ē-ə-lē 

adverb

Synonyms

• black
• bleak
• cheerless
• chill
• Cimmerian
• cloudy
• cold
• comfortless
• dark
• darkening
• depressing
• depressive
• desolate
• dire
• disconsolate
• dismal
• drear
• dreary
• dreich [chiefly Scottish]
• elegiac
• elegiacal
• forlorn
• gloomy
• glum
• godforsaken
• gray
• grey
• lonely
• lonesome
• lugubrious
• miserable
• morbid
• morose
• murky
• plutonian
• saturnine
• sepulchral
• solemn
• somber
• sombre
• sullen
• sunless
• tenebrific
• tenebrous
• wretched

Examples of funereal in a Sentence

shivered with cold in the dark and funereal Victorian mansion

Recent Examples on the Web

Streetlights were painted over in a funereal blue color to thwart air raids. —Sam Roberts, Foreign Affairs, 2 June 2015

Dressed in a pristine white tracksuit, Biles sat atop a vault, which was flanked by funereal white flowers. —Anna Lazarus Caplan, Peoplemag, 4 Sep. 2024

Biles captioned Instagram pictures of herself sitting atop a vault, surrounded by funereal white flowers. —Elizabeth Logan, Glamour, 3 Sep. 2024

There’s an amazing scene in the original Beetlejuice, in which the deliciously droll Deetz daughter, Lydia, is sitting at the dinner table, head-to-toe in Victoriana drip, a funereal veil obscuring her witchy bangs, which she’s gelled gloriously into spikes. —Tish Weinstock, Vogue, 31 Aug. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Latin funereus, from funer-, funus

First Known Use

1598, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

funereal

adjective

fu·​ne·​re·​al fyu̇-ˈnir-ē-əl 

: suggesting a funeral

funereal gloom

funereally

-ē-ə-lē 

adverb