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dead

dead

9 4.1
Without feeling or movement in a body part, like after an injection
  • adjective
  • /dɛd/
: entumecido
  • I see you floundering like a dead dolphin in the waves.

Like he was dead, but he was still living.

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Examples

  • A man is dead inside tonight.

  • I don't know what's harder for a child, to see your mother dead, or your father cry.

  • It's like, I mean, I'm dead, but I still exist.

  • And so being dead does not scare me.

  • I feel so dead with you, Brice.

  • I wished I was dead every day because I didn't want to go.

    Academic text (2013)
  • I don't think her eyes look that dead there, but I don't know.

  • In my mind's eye, I saw the dead neon sign swaying a little in the night air.

    Fiction book (1990)
  • I can't believe that the noblest impulse of man — his compassion for another— can be completely dead here.

  • After the stressful meeting, she felt completely dead inside and unable to care about anything.

Synonyms

unconscious
vsdead
256 4.2

Not awake and not able to respond to people or things

is used for absence of feeling while still awake or present
numb
vsdead
75 4.1

Unable to feel or show emotion after something upsetting

is wider, applying to physical or emotional lack of response
lifeless
vsdead
27 3.4

Not moving and showing no signs of people or animals

emphasizes lack of feeling rather than an actual absence of life
senseless
vsdead
20 4.2

Unconscious and unable to feel or respond

describes lack of feeling while remaining conscious rather than asleep
dead inside
vsdead
  • Informal
9 8.5

Having no feelings and unable to enjoy things or care

is more general, including physical unresponsiveness as well
like a zombie
vsdead
  • Informal
9 8.4

Moving slowly and not fully aware because you are very tired

means complete lack of feeling or emotional response rather than dazed acting
desiccated
vsdead
  • Formal
3 7.8

Having little energy or feeling and seeming lifeless

focuses on absence of feeling rather than a mere dry appearance
deadened
vsdead
1 6.0

A part of the body that has no feeling so you cannot feel touch

is broader and also covers emotional lack of response

Antonyms

87 4.0

React quickly and helpfully to people and things

Idioms

left for dead
  • Informal
43 8.3

Abandoned without help in a very dangerous situation

Make a dead person alive again using magic or other power

23 5.5

Become successful or active again after a long time away

At a very late, quiet time when most people are asleep

dead set
  • Informal
18 6.5

Firmly decided to do something or strongly against doing it

Unable to continue because progress has stopped

15 3.4

Directly in front of you

drop-dead
  • Informal
15 6.7

Very attractive or impressive

dead and buried
  • Informal
14 3.9

Completely finished and no longer talked about

dead to rights
  • Informal
13 8.6

Caught clearly doing something wrong

dead last
  • Informal
12 7.2

In the very last position in a race or ranking

11 8.4

To refuse to do something because you strongly dislike it

caught dead
  • Informal
10 8.8

Not wanting people to see you doing or wearing something embarrassing

10 4.8

Exactly correct about a fact or answer

dead inside
  • Informal
9 8.5

Having no feelings and unable to enjoy things or care

dead set on
  • Informal
9 4.8

Want something very much and do not change their mind

dead set against
  • Informal
8 6.8

Being completely against an idea or plan

The coldest, darkest time of winter when the weather is at its worst

stone dead
  • Informal
5 5.1

Completely without life or totally not working

4 7.5

Continuing to talk about something already decided and pointless

cold, dead hands
  • Informal
4 9.9

To refuse to give up something unless you are dead

dead asleep
  • Informal
3 3.5

Completely not awake and hard to wake

1 9.9

Being numb and empty inside after loss or long sadness

1 7.5

To waste effort on something that cannot succeed

Exactly as you plan or expect

1 9.5

Too tired to think clearly or pay attention

1 9.9

A past rule or tradition that still controls and prevents change

Refuse to do something because they think it is embarrassing

1 8.6

Refuse to go to or be seen at something because it is embarrassing

7.1

Very tired after hard physical or mental work

8.3

A very loud sound that could wake people nearby

Much heavier than it looks and hard to lift

To do something exactly right

9.9

Words people say to show relief or that something no longer matters

Compounds

253 1.6

A person or animal that is no longer alive

130 3.6

A situation where no further progress or solution is possible

129 1.0

A person who is no longer alive

brain dead
  • Specialized
60 7.4

A person with no brain activity and no chance to get better, though the body may still work

36 4.9

A job or situation that gives no chance to move up and get better

dead-on
  • Informal
30 6.0

Exactly right and very accurate

living dead
  • Literature
26 8.6

A dead body that comes back to life like a zombie

dead weight
  • Offensive
23 4.4

A heavy object that is hard to carry, or a burden that slows progress

22 3.5

A very salty lake between Israel and Jordan that lies at the lowest point on Earth

20 6.7

A race result when two or more people finish exactly together

13 3.8

The exact middle point of something

10 3.7

A job where you cannot get a better position

A group of ancient Hebrew and Aramaic writings found in caves near the Dead Sea

dead ringer
  • Informal
9 7.4

A person who looks exactly like someone else

9 3.9

The coldest, most severe part of winter

7 2.7

A street or road that ends and does not go through

dead drop
  • Jargon
7 9.3

A secret place where people leave messages or items for others to collect without meeting

dead duck
  • Informal
6 8.6

A person or thing sure to fail

dead language
  • Specialized
6 8.9

A language that no one speaks as a first language anymore

dead air
  • Literature
6 6.3

A short, unplanned silence during a radio or TV broadcast

A street that ends at one side so cars cannot drive through

3 7.7

A piece of mail that cannot be delivered or returned to the sender

dead wood
  • Offensive
2 6.5

People or parts of a company that do not help the work

2 7.7

A law or rule that is no longer enforced

dead reckoning
  • Specialized
2 8.1

To estimate your position using direction, distance, and past information without tools

dead hand
  • Formal
1 9.2

A continuing influence from the past that holds back change

1 6.1

Having no life or power at all

1 9.3

A short rise in price after a long fall that then goes down again

1 5.6

A time of year when few people buy things or use services

dead center
  • Specialized
1 8.2

A position where the piston and rod are straight so the engine cannot turn

dead metaphor
  • Literature
1 7.4

A phrase that once made a clear picture but now feels literal like 'leg of a table'

1 9.1

A cold room in hospitals and funeral homes that holds dead bodies before burial or cremation

1 8.8

Slow, solemn music played at funerals and memorial services

dead-air space
  • Specialized
1 7.7

A space with no air movement between layers that helps keep heat in or out

1 7.2

A paper version of a book, magazine, or newspaper

A phrase used to describe famous white European men from history who stand for traditional ideas

1 9.9

A set of prayers and readings for the dead in the Catholic Church

1 8.8

A small plant with leaves like stinging nettles that does not sting when touched, often in gardens

A position for floating face down in the water with arms stretched forward to rest and breathe

genetic dead end
  • Specialized
1 8.2

A species or group that cannot have young and so ends its family line

dead load
  • Specialized
1 6.9

Permanent weight that a building or bridge has and that does not change

1 7.2

Mail that cannot be delivered or returned to its sender

dead axle
  • Specialized
1 7.7

An axle that supports a wheel but does not give power to it

dead hand
  • Archaic
9.9

Land owned by a church that cannot be sold or given away

9.3

A romantic relationship where physical or sexual intimacy has mostly stopped

A small plant with smooth, thin stems and drooping green flower clusters

dead-burned lime
  • Specialized
9.8

Material made by heating limestone until it stops reacting and does not bind well

dead-man's-fingers
  • Specialized
9.9

Dark fungi that look like fingers and grow from rotting wood

dead-men's-fingers
  • Specialized
9.9

Dark, finger-shaped parts of a fungus that grow on dead wood

A European plant from the mint family with white flowers that looks like stinging nettles but does not sting

How Responsive

sensitive
2 4.4
detached
43 5.5
unresponsive
29 4.7
numb
65 3.1
dead
9 4.1

Surface Forms

dead positive

Etymology

Dead comes from an old English word meaning 'not alive', and it also came to mean 'without feeling' or 'numb'. So doctors say a limb is 'dead' when you cannot feel or move it.