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Died/passed… any preference?

I notice more and more in U.K. that it is common to say that someone has passed. I prefer to say that someone has died but I would not seek to comment on the language of death. Just an observation! I think it crept in from US but could also be a sign of the times and perhaps people are increasingly uncomfortable with the notion of death? I hope it doesn’t happen anytime soon but I will die, not pass.
akindheart · 61-69, F
i can't use the D word in the same sentence as my daughter's name. too final. I use She passed away
Dlrannie · 31-35, F
Kicked the bucket is another British term for death 🙂
Dlrannie · 31-35, F
@bijouxbroussard And mine to you for your recent loss☹️
@Dlrannie Thank you.
jackieash · 26-30
@bijouxbroussard I've also heard (not for a long time, though) "Gone to join the choir invisible"
WelshLovely · 46-50, F
I prefer died to passed away. There is no "nice" way to put it and death is final - it hurts, it's tough to deal with and it's hard to accept, but it's one of the certainties of life.
dancingtongue · 80-89, M
I can't believe it has been nearly 14 months since my late partner made her transition. She was a licensed spiritual practitioner and chaplain. In the ministry she belonged to that was the terminology they used: "transitioning". At first I thought it was a cumbersome affectation, but the more I thought about it, it achieved the purpose the were striving for. Whether those they were trying to comfort and assist believed in the hereafter, reincarnation, were agnostic and weren't sure, or atheist and assumed there was nothing more, their dearly departed was making their transition to whatever was next. It didn't presume to force any belief system on anyone, and wasn't so blunt as referring to them as being dead which is an invitation to some to give voice to their belief systems -- "oh, they are not dead, they" whatever.
DunningKruger · 61-69, M
In journalism, the rule I learned was that you didn't use any sort of euphemism for death. You just said that someone had died. Of course, I see a lot of variance from that.
Dead is dead. I say died. Others mince words and think it is more kind to say passed. I can pass a vehicle on the highway. Dead means died.
NickiHijab · F
I feel like passed is more polite.
My roommate is a nurse and at the hospital they use the term 'expired'
CountScrofula · 41-45, M
I've known some people who were near death and have had the same opinion. "Don't sugarcoat it. We need to face death. I will die."

But there's also a lot of social norms about softening blunt language so uh. Frankly, just navigate that terrain as you see fit. You may offend someone but maybe it's right to offend them? IDK. No right answers.
Thevy29 · 41-45, M
If someone dies in their sleep, you could say they ‘passed away.

Whereas if they overdosed it was an ‘overdose’

If they topped themselves it was a ‘suicide’

If it was by an accident they ‘died tragically’

If they got between me and the kettle in morning. Then ‘they had it coming’
ArishMell · 70-79, M
"Passed" on its own might be American; but whatever its origin, the normal British version is "passed away", not just "passed".
WelshLovely · 46-50, F
@ArishMell It's a regional thing. Some people do just say passed and not passed away.
ArishMell · 70-79, M
@WelshLovely Oh, I didn't realise that. Thankyou!
BeJeweled · F
If someone's loved one has recently died, I'll use the term passed away.
If its been a while, like in my mom case, I'll say she died 6 years ago yesterday. (She did on May 4).
pentacorn · F
[i]is dead or has died[/i] is my preference. one day i will die and from that point forward i will be dead.

overall, i just want to use the language the bereaved prefers
Lanie78 · 41-45, F
Died just sounds so final, and yes it is but saying passed imo is less harsh. Especially if you're talking about it to or around the bereaved.
Thodsis · 51-55, M
It's an annoying phrase. If you are dead then you are dead.

'Passing to the other side' is for the feeble-minded....
@Thodsis Who said anything about "Passing to the other side"???

The correct terminology is "Passed away".
Gusman · 61-69, M
I always used Died.
I think passed is used with the intention that someone has passed over to "The Other Side" and is now with God.
smiler2012 · 56-60
{@petermatureuk2022] alway said passed started when my dad did and was upset over his sudden death i could not use the word died
you guys are at 2500 excess deaths per week.

passing sounds way better than murdered by gubberment...
Ryannnnnn · 31-35, M
I believe in passing onto something else, energy transforming into something else. That is why I say pass
ninalanyon · 61-69, T
Died. There is nowhere to pass to, death is the end.
akindheart · 61-69, F
@ninalanyon if you lost a child, it is very hard to say the D word..even though I know the outcome
ninalanyon · 61-69, T
@akindheart It depends, I think, on whether or not one knows the opinion of the deceased regarding an afterlife. I never say my wife passed, I always say died. But I know that she had no belief in an afterlife, I would feel disrespectful to her memory if I were to imply to others that i thought she lived on elsewhere.

But, of course, everyone must deal with it in the way that works for them and their immediate circle of friends and relatives.
exexec · 61-69, C
I grew up with "passed away" and "died." I usually use those two terms and never use "passed."
Dolimyte · 41-45, M
I plan to croke. If I'm unlucky I might get snuffed out though.
SW-User
Thank you all for some really interesting replies.
MasterDvdC · 61-69, M
In our church they use the term "graduated"
val70 · 51-55
Passed on. It's all but a journey any way
My preference is to do neither.
BarbossasHusband · 36-40, M
I say passed bc it sounds less harsh
"Passed away" is a gentler way to put it...
Havesomefun2 · 56-60, M
Feeding the worms
GJOFJ3 · 61-69, M
Passed is a gentler term
Tres13 · 51-55, M
stop'd breathing
Wizardry · 46-50, M
I say pass on or passed on
I say 'passed away'.
Jimmy2016 · 61-69, M
🤔..........They passed and died..............
MarineBob · 56-60, M
When i die/pass it makes no difference, i shall be dead. It woll be for those left behind to decide what they feel about it
It’s considered more polite to say someone has "passed away" rather than died, in many parts of the U.S., especially in the South, and the term isn’t new, so it is likely among the "Americanisms" that have finally reached your shores. Basically, however my loved ones need to describe my final permanent [b]absence[/b], shall we say, that helps them with the grieving process, is fine with me.
I’ll be beyond caring, and it won’t change a thing. 😊
Im only guessing here, but i wonder if 'passed on' or 'passed away', is a term used more by people who have a spiritual belief.
Ie: they believe they havent so much as died, but passed on to nivarna/heaven/paradise .🤷‍♀️
uncalled4 · 56-60, M
"....was live." As in Facebook.

 
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