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Word page
Sepulture
Sepulture is a formal old word for burial or a burial place. It belongs to religious writing, historical prose, and gothic English more than to everyday conversation.
How to say it
Meaning in plain English
Burial or a place of burial. It belongs to religious writing, historical prose, and gothic English more than to everyday conversation.
Why this word feels absurd
Sepulture feels absurd because it turns a blunt human fact into something stately and ceremonial. The word sounds wrapped in stone, incense, and solemn ritual.
Origin and history
It comes from Latin sepelire, meaning to bury, and entered English through Anglo-French and learned religious language. The term was common in older formal writing but is now much rarer.
Is this word still used today?
Mostly in historical, biblical, poetic, and highly literary contexts.
Example sentences
- The chapel became the sepulture of several generations of the family.
- The inscription speaks of honor in life and dignity in sepulture.
- Modern writers may choose sepulture when burial sounds too plain.
- The ruins were long believed to mark a royal sepulture.
When should you use this word?
Usage advice Use sepulture when you want a more vivid, specific, or memorable alternative to a plainer expression. It works especially well in explanatory writing, creative description, and glossary-style pages that target searches about meaning, pronunciation, origin, usage, and example sentences.
Similar words
Burial, Interment, Entombment, Grave
Opposite or contrasting words
Exhumation, Disinterment, Birth, Emergence
Common questions
- What does sepulture mean? It means burial or a place of burial.
- How do you pronounce sepulture? It is commonly pronounced SEP-ul-chur.
- Is sepulture still used today? Mostly in historical, biblical, poetic, and highly literary contexts.
- Where does sepulture come from? It comes from Latin sepelire, meaning to bury, and entered English through Anglo-French and learned religious language. The term was common in older formal writing but is now much rarer.
- What words are similar to sepulture? burial, interment, entombment, grave are close in meaning or association.