as in autopsy
examination of a dead body especially to find out the cause of death
a coroner performed the postmortem examination with painstaking thoroughness
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of postmortem examination
His remains were transported to the Cook County medical examiner’s office, where family members confirmed his identity following a postmortem examination.
—
Samantha Moilanen, Chicago Tribune, 7 May 2025
While the postmortem examination took two hours to complete, Francisco decided to make a public statement about Elvis Presley‘s cause of death midway through the process without the consent of his fellow pathologists.
—Jenzia Burgos, StyleCaster, 9 Oct. 2024
Detective Superintendent Mike Brown of Suffolk Police said during a coroner's inquest in Ipswich on Friday, Oct. 4, that the 59-year-old was determined to have drowned following a postmortem examination, the BBC and The Guardian report.
—Abigail Adams, People.com, 4 Oct. 2024
The victims, including American Hersh Goldberg-Polin, 23, were killed on the evening of Aug. 29 in Rafah’s Tal Al Sultan neighborhood, the Israel Defense Forces said, citing postmortem examinations of the bodies.
—Raf Sanchez, NBC News, 10 Sep. 2024
See All Example Sentences for postmortem examination
Samantha Moilanen, Chicago Tribune, 7 May 2025
While the postmortem examination took two hours to complete, Francisco decided to make a public statement about Elvis Presley‘s cause of death midway through the process without the consent of his fellow pathologists.
—Jenzia Burgos, StyleCaster, 9 Oct. 2024
Detective Superintendent Mike Brown of Suffolk Police said during a coroner's inquest in Ipswich on Friday, Oct. 4, that the 59-year-old was determined to have drowned following a postmortem examination, the BBC and The Guardian report.
—Abigail Adams, People.com, 4 Oct. 2024
The victims, including American Hersh Goldberg-Polin, 23, were killed on the evening of Aug. 29 in Rafah’s Tal Al Sultan neighborhood, the Israel Defense Forces said, citing postmortem examinations of the bodies.
—Raf Sanchez, NBC News, 10 Sep. 2024
See All Example Sentences for postmortem examination
Recent Examples of Synonyms for postmortem examination
autopsy
Noun
-
The remains were discovered with clothing and an apparent gunshot wound to the skull, according to the autopsy.—
Jennifer McRae,
CBS News,
27 Mar. 2026
-
His official cause and manner of death are pending the results of an autopsy, according to the Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Office website.—
Harriet Ramos,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
27 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Postmortem examination.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/postmortem%20examination. Accessed 4 Apr. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
