as in tombstones
a shaped stone laid over or erected near a grave and usually bearing an inscription to identify and preserve the memory of the deceased
we love to tour old cemeteries and read the hauntingly poetic inscriptions on the gravestones
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Recent Examples of gravestones
Services at the gravestones of Henrik Ibsen and Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson are among many that take place before 9am.
—
David Nikel, Forbes, 8 Mar. 2025
Nineteenth-century gravestones that turned out to be half-buried had surprises waiting just below the surface, such as sculptures of squirrels and dragons that looked unfamiliar on Polish Jewish graves, said Wrzosinski.
—Shira Li Bartov, Sun Sentinel, 27 Feb. 2025
Some gravestones stand tall and pristine.
—Shira Li Bartov, Sun Sentinel, 27 Feb. 2025
Young people stand in between the gravestones, chattering, laughing and digging with shovels.
—Shira Li Bartov, Sun Sentinel, 27 Feb. 2025
Their lives were modest and so were their graves, marked not with expensive granite but with wooden crosses or metal markers in the shape of traditional gravestones.
—Maria Cramer, New York Times, 16 Feb. 2025
The couple’s gravestones will be by a willow tree at the edge of the pond.
—Virginia Chamlee, People.com, 29 Dec. 2024
The couple’s gravestones will be by a willow tree at the edge of a pond that Jimmy helped dig.
—Raven Brunner, People.com, 29 Dec. 2024
The gravestones are numbered to reflect the burial system that was developed to properly inter hundreds of victims whose bodies were never claimed or identified.
—Jennifer Jett, NBC News, 26 Dec. 2024
David Nikel, Forbes, 8 Mar. 2025
Nineteenth-century gravestones that turned out to be half-buried had surprises waiting just below the surface, such as sculptures of squirrels and dragons that looked unfamiliar on Polish Jewish graves, said Wrzosinski.
—Shira Li Bartov, Sun Sentinel, 27 Feb. 2025
Some gravestones stand tall and pristine.
—Shira Li Bartov, Sun Sentinel, 27 Feb. 2025
Young people stand in between the gravestones, chattering, laughing and digging with shovels.
—Shira Li Bartov, Sun Sentinel, 27 Feb. 2025
Their lives were modest and so were their graves, marked not with expensive granite but with wooden crosses or metal markers in the shape of traditional gravestones.
—Maria Cramer, New York Times, 16 Feb. 2025
The couple’s gravestones will be by a willow tree at the edge of the pond.
—Virginia Chamlee, People.com, 29 Dec. 2024
The couple’s gravestones will be by a willow tree at the edge of a pond that Jimmy helped dig.
—Raven Brunner, People.com, 29 Dec. 2024
The gravestones are numbered to reflect the burial system that was developed to properly inter hundreds of victims whose bodies were never claimed or identified.
—Jennifer Jett, NBC News, 26 Dec. 2024
Cite this Entry
“Gravestones.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/gravestones. Accessed 19 Apr. 2025.
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