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When I want to say someone passed away because of a certain reason (cancer, accidents etc), which one would sound more natural between "pass away from" and "pass away of"?

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    You can use use from. However, He passed away from an accident is far from idiomatic. Passed away from is only appropriate if the cause is a disease: He passed away from halitosis. If the cause is an accident, you would have to write He passed away as the result of an accident, or similar. Jun 17, 2017 at 19:47
  • Indeed, and even with diseases one often says "passed away as a/the result of". P.S. This is the sort of question where, since both options are not correct, an Ngram is a very helpful tool! Jun 17, 2017 at 19:55

2 Answers 2

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In the case of cancer it is not so clear cut

He died of cancer.
He died from cancer.

are both used.

However in an accident, it is usual to hear

He died from injuries sustained in an accident.
He died in an accident.

However,

He died of an accident

is incorrect.

Also, you would say

He died from (too much) drink. (correct)

but not

He died from drinking. (not correct, but understandable)
He died of drink. (not correct, but understandable)

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One can use "of" or "from" in the phrase you are using, depending on the circumstance involved, but more often one hears people employing a phrase as follows:

Someone passed away due to cancer, an accident or some other reason.

Definition of due:

adjective

6: required or expected in the prescribed, normal, or logical course of events

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