decease
decease Lexical Profile
decease Game Scores & Validity
• noun
The death of a person, especially as a formal or legal term.
"According to the terms of the trust, the estate will be divided equally among the heirs upon the grantor's decease."
• verb
To die or pass away (used chiefly in formal or legal contexts).
"Should the primary beneficiary decease before the policy matures, the proceeds will transfer to the contingent beneficiary."
Word Nuance & Usage
"Decease" is primarily restricted to formal, legal, or bureaucratic contexts (e.g., "upon his decease"); in everyday English, it is far more commonly encountered in its participial adjective and noun form, "deceased". Do not confuse it with the lookalike noun "disease" (an illness).
• Rhymes for decease
Word Origin & Etymology
Borrowed in the 14th century from Old French "deces", from Latin "decessus" ("departure" or "death"), the past participle noun of "decedere" ("to depart" or "withdraw"), formed from "de-" ("away from") and "cedere" ("to go").