MEANING
1. An object or work created to keep the memory of a person or event alive.
2. A ceremony or gathering held to remember and honor someone who has died.
3. Created or done to keep the memory of a person or event alive.
Use it for
naming a lasting tribute to someone who died; describing an object that keeps a person remembered; distinguishing remembrance from a burial placeNames a lasting tribute or an occasion of remembrance, rather than the act of grieving itself. Writing functions: Mourning / Loss.
Words that belong together
- a war memorial
- a memorial to the dead
- erect a memorial
On the page
The empty chair became an unofficial memorial to the missing teacher.
They planted an orchard as a memorial to the children who had died.
At the memorial, nobody could agree which song she had loved most.
He arrived late for the memorial and stood at the back with the flowers.
The memorial garden occupied the site of the old infirmary.
Word forms
- Base
- memorial
Usage notes
Countable noun: memorial, memorials. Also an adjective before a noun, as in memorial garden; not ordinarily compared. A memorial service can be held after burial or cremation. Register: neutral. Commonness: common for a tribute or service; written-petition sense is uncommon and formal (dictionary-informed qualitative editorial estimate; not a measured frequency).
Practice this word in a sentenceYour margin notes
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