Euphemisms for Death: 200+ Ways to Describe Death & Dying

Euphemisms for death abound. This is because there are many ways we talk about death.

Sometimes we talk evasively, in a way that avoids really talking about death. Other times we are trying to be polite and sensitive, especially around the family of the one who has died. Still other times we turn it into a big joke, blunting the razor edge of death’s horror with humor.

We can talk about death clinically, with a focus on the physical symptoms that avoids the emotional aspect. And of the flip side we can use purely emotional, whimsical terms like “living on in our hearts” as a way to deflect the crushing reality.

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How We Talk About Death

Many thinkers, speakers, and authors have addressed the way we talk about death. That’s not my purpose here. If you would like to pursue the idea of why our culture talks about (and avoids talking about) death the way we do, and how to talk about death with friends, family, and loved ones, here are a few resources:

• The Art of Dying Well (website) – Chock full of articles and resources
• Talking About Death (book) – Well-received book by journalist Virginia Morris
• What Grieving People Wish You Knew (book) – our 5-star review here
• Talk About Death While You’re Still Healthy (TED talk) – video and transcript
• Remember Death (book) – How thinking about death helps us treasure the Gospel

But in this article, I am simply listing the many ways we can say that someone has died. I’ll include the following categories:

• Synonyms and descriptions of death
• Polite euphemisms for death
• Old-fashioned and quaint euphemisms for death
• Snarky and humorous euphemisms for death

With nearly 300 euphemisms for death, this is the most complete list of its kind on the internet. Writers, funeral professionals, and family members who are looking to engrave an inscription on a cremation urn or headstone.

Euphemisms for Death

Synonyms & Descriptions of Death

• Dead
• Deceased
• Died
• Expired
• Killed
• Lifeless
• Perished

Polite Euphemisms for Death

• Asleep
• Asleep In Christ
• At Home
• At Home In Christ
• At Peace
• At Rest
• Buried
• Bravely Fought ___ (insert the applicable condition or disease)
• Called Home
• Came To An End
• Came To Rest
• Deceased
• Departed
• Ended
• Entered Into Eternity
• Feeling No Pain
• Fell
• Fell To ___ (insert the applicable condition, disease, or accident)
• Finished
• Gone
• Gone, But Not Forgotten
• Gone Home
• In A Better Place
• In Our Hearts
• In The Clouds
• Laid To Rest
• Late (as in, “The late Mr. Robinson”)
• Left This World
• Left Us
• Lifeless
• Lost
• No Longer With Us
• No More
• His/Her Hour Came
• Passed Away
• Perished
• Reached The Finish Line
• Reposing
• Resting In Peace
• Returned To The Earth
• Slipped Away Quietly
• Succumbed
• Swan Song
• Taken
• Taken By ___ (insert the applicable condition, disease, or accident)
• With Christ
• With God
• With Jesus
• With The Angels

Old-Fashioned & Quaint Euphemisms for Death

• A Race Well Run
• Angels Carried Him/Her Away
• Ashes To Ashes, Dust To Dust
• Asleep In The Arms Of Jesus
• Bereft Of Life
• Bid Adieu To Earthly Scenes
• Bid Farewell To This World
• Called
• Called To His/Her Reward
• Called To Heaven
• Ceased To Breathe
• Ceased To Be
• Changed A Fleeting World For An Immortal Rest
• Closed This Earthly Scene
• Crossed Over
• Crossed The Bar
• Cut Down
• Cut Down In The Prime Of Life
• Departed From This In Hope Of A Better Life
• Departed This Life
• Departed This Stage of Existence
• Departed This Transitory Life
• Ended All Her/His Cares
• Entered Into Glody
• Entered Into The Joy Of His/Her Master (a reference to Matthew 25:21)
• Entered The Regions Of Immortal Felicity
• Eternal Sabbath
• Eternal Rest
• Exchanged Worlds
• Fell Bravely Fighting For The Liberties of His/Her Country
• Fell Victim To An Untimely Disease
• Finished a Long And Useful Life
• Finished The Race (a reference to II Timothy 4:7)
• Finished This Life
• Finished A Life Of ___ (such as “Exemplary Piety“)
• Fought The Good Fight (a reference to II Timothy 4:7)
• Gathered To His People
• Gave Up The Ghost
• Get Your Wings
• Go The Way Of All Earth
• Go The Way Of All Flesh
• Go To Abraham’s Bosom (a reference the parable of the rich man and Lazarus in Luke 16:19–31)
• Go To Meet One’s Maker
• Go To One’s Just Reward
• Go To One’s Home
• Go To One’s Rest
• Go West
• Going To The Big Mansion In The Sky
• Her/His Longing Spirit Sprung
• Hurried From This Life
• In Repose
• In The Grave
• Inanimated
• Innocently Retired
• Joined The Congregation Of The Dead (a reference to the fate the one who wanders from the way of understanding in Proverbs 21:16)
• Left This Mortal Coil
• Left This Earthly Coil
• Lifeless
• Lost
• Made His/Her Exit
• Met His/Her Demise
• Met His/Her End
• Met His/Her Maker
• Mortified
• Obit (from the Latin obire)
• Out Of His/Her Misery
• Paid Charon’s Fare
• Passed Into The World Of Spirits
• Passed Onward
• Passed To The Summer Land
• Paying A Debt To Nature
• Reached The Heavenly Shores
• Rejoicing (as in, rejoicing in heaven)
• Released
• Released From This Life
• Relinquished This World
• Remanded
• Removed By ___ (insert the applicable condition, disease, or accident)
• Resigned Her/His Soul To God
• Rested From Her/His Labors
• Rested From The Hurry Of Life
• Resting In Peace (R.I.P.)
• Returned To Dust
• Rose Upon The Horizon Of Perfect Endless Day
• Sailed Into the West (a reference to The Lord of the Rings)
• Second Birth (a reference to the Christian ideas of resurrection and being “born again”)
• Shuffled Off This Mortal Coil
• Slain By The Last Enemy (a reference to I Corinthians 15:26, “the last enemy to be destroyed is death.”)
• Sprouted Wings
• Submitted To ___ (insert the applicable condition, disease, or accident)
• Summoned to Appear Before His/Her Judge
• That Good Night
• Took A Harp
• Traded To The Angels
• Translated
• Turned To Dust
• Unveiled (a reference to II Corinthians 3:18)
• Vanquished This World
• Wandering The Elysian Fields (a reference to the final resting place for the heroes of Greek mythology)
• Was Called To Close His/Her Eyes On Mortal Things
• Went Rejoicing Out of This World
• With The Ancestors
• Yield One’s Breath
• Yield Up The Ghost
• Yielded Up Her/His Spirit (a reference to Matthew 27:50)

Snarky & Humorous Euphemisms for Death

• Annihilated
• At Room Temperature
• Ate It
• Baste The Formaldehyde Turkey
• Became A Root Inspector
• Become Living-Challenged
• Began To Dissolve
• Belly Up
• Bills Of Mortality
• Bite The Dust
• Bless The World With One’s Heels
• Bloodless
• Bought The Farm
• Breathed One’s Last
• Bumped Off
• Buried
• Buy A Pine Condo
• Cadaverous
• Cashed In
• Cash In One’s Chips
• Checked Out
• Checking Out The Grass From Underneath
• Climb The Golden Staircase
• Cold
• Conk
• Croaked
• Crossed The River Styx
• Cut Off
• Dance The Last Dance
• Dead Meat
• Deader Than A Doornail
• Decided That Hell’s Got A Better HR Policy Than The Office
• Definitely Done Dancing
• Defunct
• Dirt Nap
• Done For
• Drowning In Dirt
• Drowning In Worms
• End One’s Earthly Career
• Erased
• Executed
• Expired
• Extinct
• Fallen Off Their Perch
• Final Chapter
• Final Curtain Call
• Finally Eligible For That Management Position He/She Was Always After
• Finally Got His/Her Tab Called At The Bar Of Life
• Flatlined
• Fragged
• Gathering The Asphalt
• Getting Bagged
• Go Home Feet First
• Go Home In A Box
• Go Into The Fertilizer Business
• Go Off
• Go Off The Hooks
• Go Out Like The Snuff Of A Candle
• Go To A Necktie Party
• Go To A Necktie Social
• Go To Davy Jones’s Locker
• Go To One’s Last Account
• Go To One’s Long Account
• Examining The Radishes From Below
• Go To The Happy Hunting Ground
• Go To The Last Roundup
• Gone To Take His/Her Free Kick At Hitler’s Backside
• Goner
• Got A One-Way Ticket
• Hop The Twig
• Immortally Challenged
• In The Horizontal Phone Booth
• Inanimate
• Is Now A Stiff
• It Was Curtains
• Joined The Choir Invisible
• Joined The Majority
• Juggling Halos Now
• Just Got Stamped “Return To Sender”
• Kicked Off
• Kicked The Bucket
• Kicked The Oxygen Habit
• Left It
• Left The Building
• Liquidated
• Living-Impaired
• Off The Twig
• Offed
• On The Unable To Breathe List
• On Vacation
• Past His/Her Sell-By Date
• Permanently Out Of Print
• Picking Turnips With A Step Ladder
• Popped Off
• Pushing Clouds
• Lincoln Lying In State
• Popped Their Clogs
• Pushing Up The Daisies
• Put Down
• Put Him In Cement Boots
• Put To Bed With A Shovel
• Returned To The Source
• Run Down The Curtain & Joined The Choir Invisible
• Riding The Perma-Pine
• Rubbed Out
• Quit The Stage
• Shooting His/Her Star
• Six Feet Under
• Sleeping With The Fishes (a reference to the film The Godfather)
• Slipped His/Her Moorings
• Snuffed
• Snuffed Out
• Stiff
• Stiff As A Board
• Stone Dead
• Taken Out Of Production
• Taking A Dirt Nap
• Taking An All Expenses Paid Trip Aboard Stygian Cruise Lines
• Tending Towards A State Of Chemical Equilibrium
• Terminated
• That Was All She Wrote
• The Big Nap
• The Lone Couch Of This Everlasting Sleep
• Trip The Light Fantastic
• Turn Up One’s Toes
• Turned Over The Perch
• Turned Their Toes Up
• Turning Up Daisies
• Wacked
• Wasted
• Wearing A Toe Tag
• Winning One For The Reaper
• Worm Food

Read next: What Happens When You Die? 10 Things to Know