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🏈 Throwing the ball 🕊️ Death 🕰️ End of period 🌠 Moving by 🎓 Success in test 🚗 Overtaking ✅ Satisfactory ⏳ Brief or short 💨 Not detailed ✨ Very 🏈 Throwing plays
passing

passing

77 5.0
The act of dying used in a gentle way
  • noun
  • /ˈpæsɪŋ/
  • Formal
translation icon : fallecimiento
  • We're gathered here today to honor the passing of a man of courage and of vision.
  • mourn the passing
  • passing from this life
  • death and passing

So a month after my grandma's passing, we got a call.

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Examples

  • We deeply mourn her passing and we pay tribute to her service.

    10 Downing Street

  • Thank you for joining us in mourning Randolph's untimely passing.

    The Pale Blue Eye (2022)

  • I have seen your passing, and it is near.

    In the Name of the King 2: Two Worlds (2011)

  • Along with the British public, I felt real sadness at the passing of Prince Philip.

  • So a month after my grandma's passing, we got a call.

    Alannized

  • I'm sorry, and I wish you a peaceful passing.

    Ida Red (2021)

  • His passing has left me with something of a dilemma.

    8MM (1999)

  • I deeply regret the passing of Senior Chief Munugu in September 2005.

    Academic text (2006)

  • The duty to mourn Mona's passing, but also to celebrate Mona's life.

    Beau Is Afraid (2023)

  • We gather here today to remember the passing of our beloved friend and family member.

Synonyms

death
vspassing
∞ 1.0

The end of a living thing's life

uses a gentler euphemistic expression instead of direct phrasing
loss
vspassing
795 2.6

The death of someone close to you

talks about death more as a gentle, euphemistic event rather than grief
departure
vspassing
  • Formal
26 8.8

A polite way to say that someone has died

is gentler and more euphemistic than that formal phrase
expiration
vspassing
  • Formal
3 7.7

The end of a person's life when they stop living

is a softer, more gentle way to refer to death
dying
vspassing
1 2.4

Close to stopping living or being used

refers to the event in a gentler, less clinical way

Antonyms

life
∞ 1.0

The time from birth to death when a person is alive

birth
313 1.0

The start of something new, for example a life or an era

Idioms

in passing
27 3.8

While mentioning something briefly without giving it much attention

Compounds

passing game
  • Jargon
25 3.6

A series of plays in American football that move the ball by throwing to teammates

passing play
  • Specialized
1 4.4

A play in American football where a player throws the ball forward to a teammate

husband's passing
1 5.6

The death of a woman's husband

passing comment
1 3.3

A short casual remark that someone says without thinking

buck-passing
1 7.1

Act of putting blame on others to avoid doing a job you should do

passing shot
  • Specialized
1 4.6

A tennis hit that goes past an opponent at the net

buck-passing culture
7.9

A workplace culture where people avoid responsibility by blaming others

passing beam headlamp
  • UK
5.6

A light on a car that makes a low beam to light the road without hurting other drivers' eyes

passing note
  • Specialized
7.2

A small note between two main notes in a melody that connects them smoothly

passing tone
  • Specialized
7.8

A note played between two main notes to make the tune move smoothly

passing water
  • UK
8.2

To let out urine from the body

Surface Forms

passing singular
passings plural

Morphology

passing = pass (semi-transparent) = pass + ing

Formed from 'pass' + '-ing' with the specific idiomatic sense 'pass (away)' = 'die', which is an established euphemism rather than a fully predictable literal meaning.

Etymology

Passing comes from pass, used in the idea of 'passing away' or moving from one state to another. Saying someone's passing is a gentle way to say they have died, so the word is a softer term for death.