le défunt

Definition & meaning

Défunt means deceased or late. It refers to someone who has died and is often used in formal, respectful, or legal contexts.

It can be used as an adjective, as in son défunt mari (“her late husband”), or as a noun: un défunt means “a deceased man,” and une défunte means “a deceased woman.”

Grammar & word origin

As an adjective, défunt agrees in gender and number: défunt, défunte, défunts, défuntes.

The word comes from Latin defunctus, the past participle of defungi, meaning “to finish” or “to fulfill one’s duties.” In French, it came to refer to someone whose life has ended.

Synonyms & antonyms

• décédé ↗ — “deceased”; a neutral, common alternative.
• mort ↗ — “dead”; more direct and less formal than défunt.
• disparu ↗ — literally “missing” or “gone”; often used as a gentler euphemism for someone who has died.
• feu ↗ — a formal term meaning “late,” usually placed before a person’s title or name.

An antonym is vivant ↗, meaning “alive.”

Common phrases & collocations

• le défunt ↗ — “the deceased man” or, more generally, “the deceased.”
• la défunte ↗ — “the deceased woman.”
• son défunt mari ↗ — “her late husband.”
• la famille du défunt ↗ — “the deceased person’s family.”