student asking question

What's the main difference between a "death" and a "passing?"

teacher

Native speaker’s answer

Rebecca

"Death" just refers to when one's life ends. It's a very direct way to say that someone has died. "Passing" is a euphemism for "death," and is used more often in cases of natural death as a way to be polite and respectful to the deceased person. Ex: The man's death was ruled a homicide. Ex: The whole world was saddened by the Queen's passing.

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