demise.

1. A person’s death, or the final end of an institution, practice, or undertaking.

2. In law, the transfer of property or an estate, especially by lease.

Use it for

Words that belong together

• untimely demise
• demise of a company

On the page

The letter reported his untimely demise.

The essay traced the newspaper’s demise.

No one expected the venture’s sudden demise.

Usage notes

Primary category: gothic. Forms: Noun demise; demises. Verb demise; demises; demised; demised; demising. Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings.