Word: inter (verb)

Associations

The word "inter" means to bury a dead body in the ground or in a tomb. It is often used in formal or official contexts related to funerals or burial ceremonies.

• The soldiers were interred with full military honors. (Here, "interred" means buried after death.)
• The family decided to inter their grandmother in the local cemetery. (This means they buried her.)
• Archaeologists inter ancient artifacts carefully to preserve them. (Used metaphorically sometimes for placing something carefully.) A well-known synonym is "bury." The difference is that "inter" is more formal and often used in official or respectful contexts, while "bury" is more common in everyday speech.

Substitution

You can replace "inter" with:

• bury (less formal, more common)
• entomb (means to place in a tomb, often more specific)
• lay to rest (a polite phrase meaning to bury) Changing the word may affect the tone: "inter" sounds more respectful and formal.

Deconstruction

"Inter" comes from Latin "interrare," where "in-" means "in" and "terra" means "earth" or "ground." So, it literally means "to put into the earth." This origin explains why it is connected with burial.

Inquiry

• Can you think of situations where you would use "inter" instead of "bury"?
• How does the formality of "inter" affect the feeling of a sentence?
• Have you ever attended a ceremony where someone was interred? How was the language used?