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
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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
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Police did not immediately release any further details, but said Wentworth Area detectives were conducting a death investigation, pending an autopsy scheduled for Saturday.—
Tess Kenny,
Chicago Tribune,
12 Feb. 2026
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Garay Sanchez’s cause of death was officially listed as environmental hypothermia with a contributory cause of ethanol, commonly known as alcohol, use, wrote Associate Miami-Dade Medical Examiners Jusmita Saifullan and Nicholas Barna in her autopsy released to the Miami Herald on Wednesday.—
Devoun Cetoute,
Miami Herald,
11 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Postmortem examination.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/postmortem%20examination. Accessed 15 Feb. 2026.
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