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Glite Dictionary
⚰️ Not preserved 🪞 Unfiltered facts
unembalmed

unembalmed

1 8.1
Not treated with chemicals to stop a dead body from decaying
  • adjective
  • /ˌʌnɪmˈbɑmɪd/
  • Specialized
translation icon : no embalsamado
  • The unembalmed body was buried quickly to prevent further decay.
  • unembalmed body

Examples

  • The family chose to keep the body unembalmed, respecting their beliefs about returning to the earth.

  • In some cultures, it is customary to leave the deceased unembalmed before burial.

  • The family chose to have the body unembalmed for a natural burial.

  • The law allows for unembalmed remains to be buried within a certain time frame.

  • The unembalmed body was buried in a simple grave.

  • He chose to view the unembalmed corpse during the wake.

  • In many cultures, it is customary to leave the deceased unembalmed to promote natural decomposition.

Synonyms

unpreserved
vsunembalmed
1 5.7

Not treated to stop decay or rot

is specific to dead bodies and chemical steps to stop decay
untreated
vsunembalmed
1 3.4

Not changed by chemicals or by any physical process

focuses on chemical methods used on dead bodies to prevent decay

How Preserved

to mummify
17 8.3
to embalm
  • Specialized
28 9.0
unembalmed
  • Specialized
1 8.1
decayed
1 3.9

Surface Forms

unembalmed positive

Morphology

unembalmed = embalmed (transparent) = un + embalm + ed

A straightforward negation (un-) applied to 'embalmed' (preserved with chemicals), so the meaning is directly derivable.

Etymology

Unembalmed starts with un- meaning 'not' and the rest comes from embalm, which comes from a word for balm meaning 'a preserving oil' once used on dead bodies. So unembalmed means a body that was 'not' treated with preservative chemicals.