Requiem

American  

[rek-wee-uhm, ree-kwee-, rey-] / ˈrɛk wi əm, ˈri kwi-, ˈreɪ- /

Or requiem

noun

1. Roman Catholic Church.

   1. Also called Requiem Mass.  the Mass celebrated for the repose of the souls of the dead.

   2. a celebration of this Mass.

   3. a plainsong setting for this Mass.

2. any musical service, hymn, or dirge for the repose of the dead.

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Requiem British  

/ ˈrɛkwɪˌɛm /

noun

1. RC Church a Mass celebrated for the dead

2. a musical setting of this Mass

3. any piece of music composed or performed as a memorial to a dead person or persons

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Requiem Cultural  

1. In music, a Mass for one or more dead persons, containing biblical passages and prayers for the admission of the dead to heaven. The term has been loosely applied to other musical compositions in honor of the dead. A German Requiem by Johannes Brahms, for example, uses texts from the Bible (see also Bible) but is not a Mass.

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Etymology

Origin of Requiem

First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English, from Latin, accusative of requiēs ”rest” (the first word of the introit of the mass for the dead); re- ( def. ), quiet ( def. )

Explanation

A requiem is a religious ceremony performed for the dead. A requiem, or dirge, can also be a piece of music used for this ceremony or in any other context honoring those who have died. The word requiem comes from the opening words of the Roman Catholic Mass for the Dead, which is spoken or sung in Latin (requies means “rest”). In a nonreligious context the word refers simply to an act of remembrance. Mozart, Brahms, and Dvořák have all written important requiems. The English composer Benjamin Britten wrote his famous "War Requiem" for the reconsecration of a cathedral that was destroyed in World War II.

Example Sentences

So how does the latest edition, Resident Evil Requiem - released to excited fans worldwide on Friday - keep the scares feeling surprising three decades on?

From BBC • Feb. 27, 2026

A lack of heavy-hitting first-party new games for the Switch 2 in coming months also risks hindering growth, although third-party titles such as "Resident Evil Requiem" should help fill the gap, she said.

From Barron's • Feb. 3, 2026

The most striking departures are the handful of wordless sequences of Hujar and Rosenkrantz posing in the manner of a fashion shoot, scored to snippets of Mozart’s Requiem.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 6, 2025

An action packed trailer revealed Resident Evil 9 would be called Requiem, and showed off what looks like a destroyed version of the game's iconic Racoon City.

From BBC • Jun. 7, 2025

But large choruses, soloists and orchestra were bread and butter to Bach in his Passions, Handel in his oratorios, Mozart in his Requiem and Haydn in his grand choral works.

From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall