funeral
funeral — noun
1. An event, often with religious elements, that is held to honour and say goodbye
An event, often with religious elements, that is held to honour and say goodbye to a person who has died. The body of the dead person is then either placed in a grave in the ground or turned into ash by burning.
Élise's grandmother had a small funeral with only close family members present.
have/attend a funeral — common verb collocations
More than two hundred people came to Adina's funeral to pay their last respects.
come to [someone's] funeral
The funeral took place on a rainy Thursday morning at the local church.
After the funeral, the family invited everyone to their home for tea and sandwiches.
Zayd flew back to his hometown for his uncle's funeral.
- burial
focuses specifically on putting the body into the ground, rather than the full ceremony
- cremation
refers to the act of burning the body, not the ceremony itself
- memorial service
a ceremony held to remember someone after their death, but without the body present
用法筆記
A funeral is different from a memorial service because the body of the dead person is present at a funeral.
常見錯誤
2. An informal fixed phrase said to someone who is about to make a choice you think
An informal fixed phrase said to someone who is about to make a choice you think is unwise. It means that the bad outcome will be their problem to face, and you have stopped trying to talk them out of it.
If you want to spend all your savings on a sports car, it's your funeral.
fixed phrase: it's [possessive] funeral
Imran told his brother he was making a huge mistake, but his brother just shrugged and said, 'It's my funeral.'
Baraka warned Lien not to trust that salesman, but she replied, 'It's your funeral, not mine.'
Go ahead and tell the boss exactly what you think of him — it's your funeral.
- you'll be sorry
less dramatic but conveys the same warning about future regret
- on your own head be it
more formal and old-fashioned, but similar meaning
用法筆記
Only used in the fixed structure "it's [possessive determiner] funeral." The possessive must match the subject of the warning (your, my, his, her, our, their). Never used literally to mean an actual death ceremony.
常見錯誤
funeral — adjective
1. Describes something that is connected with the ceremony of burying or cremating
Describes something that is connected with the ceremony of burying or cremating a dead person. Always comes before a noun.
The funeral service lasted about an hour and included several songs.
funeral service — common compound noun
Hugo helped his uncle make the funeral arrangements after the accident.
Hoa walked slowly behind the hearse in the funeral procession.
The funeral director spoke gently with the grieving family.
A funeral march was played as the coffin was carried out of the church.
用法筆記
This adjective form always appears directly before a noun (for example, funeral service, funeral home, funeral director). It cannot be used after a linking verb: you cannot say "The service was funeral."