pass away

phraseB2Not compared — the two pools are counted one word at a time, so a phrase has no score

To pass away is the gentle way of saying that somebody has died. Softer words for the hardest fact.

English has a great many of these, and pass away, pass on and simply passed are the commonest, used in obituaries, by doctors and by families. Some people find them evasive and prefer died, which is plain and honest, and hospices increasingly use it for exactly that reason. Which to use depends entirely on the person you are speaking to. There is a separate literal sense, since a storm or a mood can pass away.

Definitions of pass away

1phrasepass awayTo die, said gently.B2
“Her mother will pass away peacefully at home, the nurse said.”

Practised in Phrasal Verbs, A Man Called Ove

First appears in chapter 6 of A Man Called Ove.

Practise this word

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pass away

phraseB2Not compared — the two pools are counted one word at a time, so a phrase has no score

To pass away is the gentle way of saying that somebody has died. Softer words for the hardest fact.

Definitions of pass away

1phrasepass awayTo die, said gently.B2
“Her mother will pass away peacefully at home, the nurse said.”

Practised in Phrasal Verbs, A Man Called Ove

First appears in chapter 6 of A Man Called Ove.

Practise this word