dear departed

dear(ly) departed

euphemism One who has died. Myrna was a wonderful woman, and we are all gathered here today to remember our dearly departed.
See also: departed
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

dear departed

Euph. a dead person, as referred to at a funeral. Let's take a moment to meditate on the life of the dear departed.
See also: dear, departed
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.
See also:
  • dear(ly) departed
  • departed
  • stay behind
  • depart with (something)
  • depart from (some place)
  • depart from some place
  • not see (one) for dust
  • not see somebody for dust
  • not see someone for dust
  • be as good as gone
References in classic literature
Also, she expressed a wish to draw closer to us, and to forget old scores; and when my mother explained that, for her own part, she harboured no resentment against Anna, the latter burst into tears, and, hurrying my mother away to church, then and there ordered Mass to be said for the "dear departed," as she called my father.
It was a new and astonishing spectacle to Rose, fresh from a prim boarding-school, and she watched the active lads with breathless interest, thinking their antics far superior to those of Mops, the dear departed monkey.
'Some romantic young widow, I suppose,' said I, 'come there to end her days in solitude, and mourn in secret for the dear departed - but it won't last long.'
March went out, after peeping here and there to see how matters went, also saying a word of comfort to Beth, who sat making a winding sheet, while the dear departed lay in state in the domino box.
Mrs Nickleby concluded by lamenting that the dear departed had never deigned to profit by her advice, save on one occasion; which was a strictly veracious statement, inasmuch as he had only acted upon it once, and had ruined himself in consequence.
'As we pray for justice and for the souls of our dear departed who became victims of the Negros 'killing fields', once more, we fervently express our people's longing for peace and our urgent cry to end the killings,' Alminaza said.
And may the soul of the dear departed rest in perfect peace.
Donald, a professor of economics at Stanford University, California, wrote, "My dear departed grandmothers (whose extraordinary legacy I described in a recent essay on this website), as well as my deceased parents, must be turning in their grave right now to see their family's name, reputation and proud Jamaican identity being connected, in any way, jokingly or not with the fraudulent stereotype of a pot-smoking joy seeker and in the pursuit of identity politics."
Some local officials actually cite the code as being sensible because they believe that there should be parking space for people who want to visit their dear departed relatives especially during All Souls Day.
At this time of the year we also reconnect with our dear departed who have passed on from this life but have etched enduring memories in our hearts.
Find out how Jilly pays tribute to her dear departed animals; how Bailey Rae has modelled a flower bed on a scheme inspired by Piet Oudolf; and why Jim Carter and Imelda Staunton have gone for bright, cut flowers on their terraces.
A noble gesture that brings me to the all-too-sundry issue of inheriting social media accounts of your dear departed loved ones.
Nevertheless, as an unintentional tribute to dear departed Dale Winton it did the job for me.
That's because the joyous celebration of the dear departed dates back 3,000 years in Mexico.
During his speech, the Ambassador gave remarks with heavy heart regarding the tragic helicopter accident in Naltar, "we been left with no alternative but to accept Gods will and seek His mercy and blessings for our dear departed souls.