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Glite Dictionary
to predecease

to predecease

2 8.4
To die before someone, often a relative
  • verb
  • /ˌpriːdɪˈsiːs/
  • Formal
translation icon : fallecer antes
  • He is survived by ten children-- nine boys, one novitiate nun, his daughter Liesl-- and is predeceased by three wives.
  • predeceased by his wife
  • predeceased by another son
  • predeceased spouse

I mean, it's horrible when we any parent to face a child that predeceases you.

Examples

  • If I were to predecease him, he would certainly not write a memoir of me.

    Fiction book (2001)

  • But this plan apparently changed when she was predeceased by her husband.

    Academic text (1999)

  • Neither did my mother, who predeceased him by 5 years when I was 15.

    Blog text (23)

  • "I have decided not to publish the poems while you are still alive, assuming, of course, that you predecease me."

    Fiction book (1996)

  • In addition to her parents and husband, Mrs. King was predeceased by a son, Douglas J. King.

    Blog text (17)

  • As things stand, he leaves all his worldly goods, except for his original manuscripts, to a wife who predeceased him.

    Fiction book (1992)

  • Kirkwood died in Riverside, California, on 11 June 1895, and was buried beside his wife and daughter, both of whom predeceased him, in Rose Hill Cemetery, Bloomington, Indiana.

    Academic text (2000)

  • Her grandmother predeceased her by several years, leaving a lasting impact on her younger life.

  • If my father were to predecease me, I would have to handle all the family affairs.

  • He was predeceased by his siblings, which made him feel rather lonely in later years.

Antonyms

to survive
747 2.5

Live after someone close to you has died

How Long

to survive
747 2.5
to live on
38 3.2
to die
∞ 1.0
to predecease
  • Formal
2 8.4

Surface Forms

predecease infinitive
predeceased past
predeceased past participle
predeceasing present participle
predeceases third person singular

Morphology

predecease = decease (transparent) = pre + decease

Given the base verb 'decease', adding 'pre-' straightforwardly yields the meaning 'die before'.

Etymology

The word predecease combines the prefix pre- meaning 'before' and the word decease, a formal word for 'death' that you see in deceased. So to predecease someone is to die 'before' them.