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V2 Vocabulary Building Dictionary


dirge

noun

Definition: a slow, solemn, and mournful piece of music, especially used for a funeral service

Synonyms: chant, hymn, cry, threnody, elegy, requiem

Antonyms:

Tips: Dirge comes from the Middle English word dirige, "the Office of the Dead." It can refer to a song or tune sung or played at a funeral, or to one that merely sounds funereal.

Usage Examples:

The party guests quickly became depressed when Bob got up to sing his latest dirge. (gloomy song, hymn)

In Greece, the women of the family follow the coffin to the church in a slow procession, singing dirges and intoning chants of mourning. (hymns, requiems)

In his will, he asked that there be no dirge played at his memorial, but cheerful dance music instead. (threnody, requiem)

The music coming from my neighbor's house sounded like a dirge, and I wondered why he would listen to something so depressing. (lament, threnody, elegy)


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