requiem

noun

ˈre-kwē-əm
Definition of requiemnext
as in lament
a composition expressing one's grief over a loss the choir will sing Mozart's Requiem

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of requiem There, he was honored with salutes and a requiem. — Chris Lau, CNN Money, 19 Dec. 2025 In the process, Gimme Shelter became not just a record of a tour, but a requiem for the 1960s counterculture and its utopian promise. — Jordan Runtagh, PEOPLE, 22 Nov. 2025 The Duke of York retreated from public life in November 2019 after a car crash interview with the BBC about his friendship with Jeffrey Epstein, but attended the requiem mass at Westminster Cathedral on Tuesday afternoon. — Jack Royston, MSNBC Newsweek, 16 Sep. 2025 People, mostly clad in black, marshalled quietly into the church ahead of the requiem. — Jose R. Gonzalez, AZCentral.com, 23 Apr. 2025 See All Example Sentences for requiem
Recent Examples of Synonyms for requiem
  1. lament
  2. elegy
  3. dirge
Noun
  • That ambiguity is echoed in Banks’ score, which takes on the tone of a lament and a celebration, frustration and hope, struggle and liberation, the quest for transcendence in the face of the challenges posed by daunting inequities.
    — George Varga, San Diego Union-Tribune, 23 Aug. 2026
  • The other main track of Diamanda’s career is her interpretations of old standards, Gospel songs, laments, and folk tunes.
    — Matt Thompson, SPIN, 21 Aug. 2026
Definition of lament
Noun
  • In some ways, Birthright is an elegy to the Jewish experience in America—a place where Israel has been centered as our refuge and rightful homeland for the last 76-odd years.
    — Hannah Seligson, Vanity Fair, 12 Aug. 2026
  • But that selflessness comes to feel like the point of this lingering, resonantly sad film — above all else, an elegy for lives unseen and unknown.
    — Guy Lodge, Variety, 23 July 2026
Definition of elegy
Noun
  • Nobody wants to be subjected to one more triggering, off-key note of an Edwin Díaz dirge.
    — Mirjam Swanson, Los Angeles Times, 14 Aug. 2026
  • This is the starting point of Earth 7, Deb Olin Unferth’s stellar and sweeping science fiction novel that is part cosmic comedy and part dirge to our dying world.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 11 June 2026
Definition of dirge

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requests
requiem
requiems
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Cite this Entry

“Requiem.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/requiem. Accessed 25 Aug. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on requiem

Nglish: Translation of requiem for Spanish Speakers

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about requiem

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