Definition of Thanatology
(noun) The study of death and dying.
Example of Thanatology
- A thanatologist interested in the social aspects of death could research the funeral home industry or rituals related to death (e.g., burial, cremation).
Thanatology Pronunciation
Syllabification: than·a·tol·o·gy
Audio Pronunciation
Phonetic Spelling
- American English – /than-uh-tAHl-uh-jee/
- British English – /than-uh-tOl-uh-jee/
International Phonetic Alphabet
- American English – /θænəˈtɔləʤi/
- British English – /θanəˈtɒlədʒi/
Usage Notes
- Thanatology focuses on all aspects of death, including: aging, coping mechanisms, grief, and rituals.
- Postmortem means “after death” and antemortem means “before death.”
- A (noun) thanatologist studies (adjective) thanatological topics such as (noun) thanatomania (the belief that one is fated to die because of being cursed), (noun) thanatophilia (fascination of death that a (noun) thanatophile exhibits), or (noun) thanatophobia (the fear of death).
Additional Information
- Death and Dying Research Resources – Books, Journals, and Helpful Links
- Word origin of “thanatology” – Online Etymology Dictionary: etymonline.com
Related Terms
Works Consulted
Griffiths, Heather, Nathan Keirns, Eric Strayer, Susan Cody-Rydzewski, Gail Scaramuzzo, Tommy Sadler, Sally Vyain, Jeff Bry, Faye Jones. 2016. Introduction to Sociology 2e. Houston, TX: OpenStax.
Merriam-Webster. (N.d.) Merriam-Webster Dictionary. (http://www.merriam-webster.com/).
Oxford University Press. (N.d.) Oxford Dictionaries. (https://www.oxforddictionaries.com/).
Taylor & Francis. (N.d.) Routledge Handbooks Online. (https://www.routledgehandbooks.com/).
Thompson, William E., and Joseph V. Hickey. 2012. Society in Focus: An Introduction to Sociology. 7th ed. Boston: Allyn & Bacon..
Wikipedia contributors. (N.d.) Wiktionary, The Free Dictionary. Wikimedia Foundation. (http://en.wiktionary.org).
Wiley. (N.d.) Wiley Online Library. (http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/).
Cite the Definition of Thanatology
ASA – American Sociological Association (5th edition)
Bell, Kenton, ed. 2013. “thanatology.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Retrieved March 28, 2023 (https://sociologydictionary.org/thanatology/).
APA – American Psychological Association (6th edition)
thanatology. (2013). In K. Bell (Ed.), Open education sociology dictionary. Retrieved from https://sociologydictionary.org/thanatology/
Chicago/Turabian: Author-Date – Chicago Manual of Style (16th edition)
Bell, Kenton, ed. 2013. “thanatology.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Accessed March 28, 2023. https://sociologydictionary.org/thanatology/.
MLA – Modern Language Association (7th edition)
“thanatology.” Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Ed. Kenton Bell. 2013. Web. 28 Mar. 2023. <https://sociologydictionary.org/thanatology/>.