ENGLISH
REFERENCE

closure

n. C / U
C1 Advanced Oxford US //ˈkɫoʊʒɝ// UK //klˈəʊʒɐ// clo·sure Archaic

n. the feeling that a difficult situation has finally ended and you can move on. It can also mean the act of closing a place like a shop or a road forever.

n. the act of closing or the state of being closed; in a psychological context, the resolution of an emotional issue providing a sense of finality.


SIMPLE

The victim's family hoped the trial would bring them closure.

CONTEXTUAL

The sudden closure of the local factory left hundreds of people without work and devastated the town's economy.

COMPLEX

While the detective eventually solved the cold case, the legal resolution failed to provide the emotional closure the community had sought for over a decade.

Synonyms
Origin

From Middle English closure, from Old French closure, from Late Latin clausura, from Latin claudere (“to close”); see clausure and cloture (etymological doublets) and close.

Usage

Uncountable when referring to the abstract psychological state of finality; countable when referring to the physical shutting of a facility or road.

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