MEANING
A heap of wood or other fuel on which a dead body is burned.
Use it for
describing an open-air cremation; identifying the heap prepared for a funeral burning; portraying mourners beside a body before cremation; distinguishing a funeral fire’s structure from a burial placeNames the physical structure used for burning a body, distinct from a grave, coffin, or ordinary fire. Writing functions: Funereal / Gothic.
Words that belong together
- a funeral pyre
- build a pyre
- light the pyre
- the ashes of a pyre
On the page
The family waited beside the unlit pyre as the last prayers were spoken.
By morning only damp ash remained where the pyre had stood.
Word forms
- Base
- pyre
Usage notes
Countable noun: a pyre; plural pyres. A pyre is the heap of fuel, not a synonym for every cremation facility or funeral. Register: neutral. Commonness: moderately common in historical, religious, and literary contexts (dictionary-informed qualitative editorial estimate; not a measured frequency).
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