obituarist

An obituarist writes a thoughtful tribute for a local newspaper.

Definition

1. Noun:
   • A writer of obituaries: An "obituarist" is a person who writes obituaries — published notices of a person's death, typically including a brief biography and details of their life and achievements.

Usage Examples

• (A writer who composes death notices for the publication.)
• (A professional writer of obituary articles.)

Advanced Usage

• "to serve as an obituarist": to fulfill the role of writing obituaries, often for a specific publication or organization.

  • After retiring from journalism, he served as an obituarist for the local history society. (He wrote death notices for the society's members.)

• "obituarist's craft": the skill and art of writing concise, respectful, and informative obituaries.

  • The obituarist's craft requires a delicate balance of factual reporting and personal tribute. (The specialized skill of composing obituaries.)

Variants and Related Words

• Obituary (n): a published notice of a death, often with a biographical sketch.

  • The obituary in the paper detailed her long career in education. (The death notice with biographical information.)

• Obituarial (adj): relating to obituaries or the writing of them.

  • The obituarial section of the magazine is always the most read. (Pertaining to obituaries.)

Synonyms

• Death notice writer: a person who composes announcements of death.
• Necrologist: a specialist in writing about the dead, especially in a historical or biographical context (less common).

Phrasal Verbs

Related Idioms

• "Write someone's obituary": to compose a death notice for a person, often used metaphorically to mean declaring something or someone as finished or obsolete.
  • Critics have already written the obituary of that outdated technology. (They have declared it obsolete.)