passes away
Breathes their last
Passes away is a gentle way to say dies.
The phrase softens the bluntness of death, making it the preferred choice in obituaries, sympathy cards, and conversations where directness might feel harsh.
Her grandmother passed away peacefully in her sleep.
While some consider it a euphemism that unnecessarily avoids reality, others appreciate how it frames death as a transition rather than an abrupt end.
Cease to be valid
Service honoring the dead
- memorialThing preserving remembrance
- cremationBurning the deceased
- burialPlacing deceased underground
- intermentPutting a body underground
eulogy · obituary · hearse · cemetery · grave · tombstone · pallbearer · requiem
Having left
- goneNo longer present
- lostUnable to navigate
- crossed overWent to the other side
- at peaceIn a calm state
called home · resting · asleep · no more · taken · left us · eternal rest · at rest
Intense sorrow from loss
- bereavementState following loss
- sorrowDeep emotional distress
- condolenceExpression of shared grief
- sympathyCompassionate understanding of others
loss · widow · widower · orphan · bereaved · heartbreak · devastation · anguish
expire
Cease to be valid
demise · depart · fall · end · cease · shuffle off · flatline
funeral
Service honoring the dead
interment · eulogy · obituary · hearse · cemetery · grave · tombstone · pallbearer · requiem · casket
departed
Having left
- goneNo longer present
- lostUnable to navigate
- crossed overWent to the other side
at peace · called home · resting · asleep · no more · taken · left us · eternal rest · at rest
grief
Intense sorrow from loss
- bereavementState following loss
- sorrowDeep emotional distress
- condolenceExpression of shared grief
sympathy · loss · widow · widower · orphan · bereaved · heartbreak · devastation · anguish · comfort
inheritance
Property received from ancestors
probate · beneficiary · keepsake · memento · heirloom · memory · remembrance · obituary · tribute · honor
passes awayrecovers
Regains health or possession
pulls through · survives · gets better · bounces back · rallies
passes awaycomes back
Arrives once more
returns · rises from the dead · comes back to life · reawakens
pass, away, passes, passed, passing, passable, impassable, passage, passenger