memorial

noun · adjective

Simple meaning

A service of remembrance or commemoration.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

muhmawreeuhl

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US device voice

IPA pronunciation (US)

məˈmɔɹiəl

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

noun

chiefly christianity
A service of remembrance or commemoration.
Something, such as a monument, by which someone or something is remembered.
A chronicle or memoir.

adjective

Serving as a remembrance of someone or something; commemorative.
Contained in the memory.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty: B1 · Intermediate
Frequency: Common
Typical Use: Everyday English

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: A service of remembrance or commemoration.

Used this way, memorial is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.

Emotional tone: Neutral
Formality: Neutral
Intensity: Not strongly marked
How common: Moderately common
Connotation: Matter-of-fact
Usage feel: Neutral and straightforward

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

More ways to use memorial

“A memorial building.”adjective

Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

memorial daymemorial servicememorial parkmemorial librarymemorial fundmemorial museummemorial hallmemorial lecture

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Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Word family

Words built from the same root.

memorynounDerived noun · specialist
Something that is remembered.
memorizeverbDerived verb
Commit to memory.

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

memorial daynounCompound term
Legal holiday in the United States, last Monday in May.
memorial tabletnounCompound term
A memorial made of brass.
memorial parknounCompound term
A tract of land used for burials.
theodore roosevelt memorial national parknounCompound term
A national park in North Dakota that includes the site of former President Theodore Roosevelt's ranch.
delaware memorial bridgenounCompound term
A suspension bridge across the Delaware River.
lincoln memorialnounCompound term
Memorial building in Washington containing a large marble statue of Abraham Lincoln.

More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin

Synonyms

Sense: service of remembrance or commemoration

monument

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.