終焉|しゅうえんshuuen[0]heiban (flat)

1. noun, suru verb, intransitive verbend (of life); death; demise
2. noun, suru verb, intransitive verb(peacefully) spending one's final years

• Synonym死しNeutralThe broadest, most direct word for death, covering people, animals and even metaphorical extinction. 「終焉」 is written style, solemnly framing a life or era's end.
• Synonym死亡しぼうNeutralStates the fact of dying; common in news reports, statistics and documents, as in 「死亡事故」. It lacks the solemn overtone of 「終焉」.
• Synonym最期さいごNeutralRefers to one's final moments, how life ends, as in 「最期を看取る」 or 「壮絶な最期」. 「終焉」 can also mark the end of an era or thing.
• Synonym逝去せいきょWrittenA written honorific used to speak respectfully of someone's death, as in 「ご逝去」. 「終焉」 carries no such respect and stresses the ending itself.
• Synonym辞世じせいWrittenA written, classical word for passing away, also for the poem composed at death. 「終焉」 can additionally mark the end of an era or thing.
• Synonym他界たかいWrittenA euphemism for dying that pictures passing to another world, as in 「他界する」. 「終焉」 can also refer to the end of an era or thing.
• SynonymおしまいCasualA colloquial word for being done or finished, as in 「今日はお仕舞い」, also for a hopeless state. It lacks the solemnity of 「終焉」.
• SynonymエンドNeutralA loanword for an ending, mostly inside compounds like 「ハッピーエンド」. It is not used for a person's death or the end of an era.
• Synonym終末しゅうまつWrittenCovers the end of things, one's final days and even the world's end, as in 「終末期医療」. 「終焉」 keeps the solemn, dignified tone.
• Synonym終幕しゅうまくWrittenNames the last act of a play and, by extension, the close of an affair, as in 「事件の終幕」. 「終焉」 is mostly for lives and eras.
• Synonym終結しゅうけつWrittenMarks the formal end of a war or dispute, as in 「戦争終結」, stressing that things are settled. 「終焉」 pictures running to the end and can mean death.
• Synonym没ぼつWrittenMostly appears as 「…年没」 in chronologies and résumés to record a death, and also means a rejected manuscript. 「終焉」 has neither use.
• Synonym末まつNeutralMeans the end or tip of something, also month or year end, as in 「苦労の末」. It never refers to death and sounds plainer than 「終焉」.
• Synonym終わりおわりNeutralThe everyday word for an end, also a soft way to speak of life's close. 「終焉」 is written style, solemn, and mostly for lives and eras.
• Synonym永眠えいみんWrittenA euphemism for eternal sleep, used in obituaries as in 「安らかに永眠」 and even for pets. Unlike 「終焉」, it only covers death, not the end of eras or things.
• Synonym絶命ぜつめいWrittenMeans breathing one's last, stressing life ending in an instant, as in 「その場で絶命」. 「終焉」 pictures a life or era running its course to the end.
• Synonym長逝ちょうせいWrittenA rare written word for a person's death; today 「逝去」 is the usual choice. 「終焉」 can also describe the end of things, not just lives.
• Synonym落命らくめいWrittenMeans losing one's life, typically through an accident or war, as in 「事故で落命」. 「終焉」 carries no sense of sudden mishap.
• Synonym死にしにNeutralMostly heads compounds like 「死に際」 or 「死に顔」 and rarely stands alone; 「終焉」 is a full written noun with a solemn ring.
• Synonym亡ぼうWrittenRead ぼう and mostly prefixed to mean the late, as in 「亡父」 or 「亡妻」. Note that the 「亡き」 of 「亡き人」 reads なき and is a separate form.
• Related最後さいごNeutralThe everyday word for the last in a sequence or the end of something, as in 「最後の日」. 「終焉」 is written style, solemnly ending a life, era, institution or culture.
• Related閉幕へいまくNeutralSays a show's curtain falls or a conference or event closes, as in 「大会が閉幕」. It never refers to death, which 「終焉」 can.
• Related終局しゅうきょくWrittenCovers the end of a go or shogi game and the outcome of affairs, as in 「終局を迎える」. It is not used for human death, unlike 「終焉」.
• Related死没しぼつWrittenA written equivalent of 「死去」, seen in résumés and chronologies. It records the bare fact of death without the solemnity of 「終焉」.
• Related末すえNeutralMeans the end or tip of something, also month or year end, as in 「苦労の末」. It never refers to death and sounds plainer than 「終焉」.
• Related終盤しゅうばんNeutralMarks the final stage of a game or election campaign, as in 「終盤戦」. It names the closing stretch, not the ending itself.
• Related結末けつまつNeutralRefers to how a story or event wraps up and its final result, as in 「意外な結末」. It does not speak of the end of a life.
• Related末路まつろNeutralRefers to the pitiful last days or downfall of a person or organization, as in 「哀れな末路」, with a note of pity. 「終焉」 carries no such coloring.
• Related末期まっきWrittenRead まつご and means the dying hours, as in 「末期の水」. It stresses the stretch of time before death, while 「終焉」 stresses the ending itself.
• Antonym始まりはじまりNeutralThe everyday word for a beginning, the direct opposite of 「終焉」: 「時代の始まり」 against 「時代の終焉」.
• Antonym開始かいしNeutralA formal word for starting something, as in 「試合開始」. It stands opposite 「終焉」 on the axis of beginning and ending.

Use the written, solemn 「終焉」 for a life, era or institution gravely coming to an end. Say 「死」 for death plainly, 「最期」 for one's final moments, 「逝去」 to speak of another's death respectfully, and 「終わり」 for endings in general; 「始まり」 is the opposite. Other words narrow the sense: 「死亡」 for facts and reports, 「永眠」 or 「他界」 as euphemisms, 「終結」 for wars, 「閉幕」 for events, 「結末」 for outcomes.

Usage comparisons are AI-assisted and cross-checked by multiple models; for study reference only

1. 生命せいめいが終おわりを迎むかえること。また、そのとき。臨終りんじゅう。末期まっき。最期さいご。
2. 物事ものごとの終おわり。