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dead

dead

49 1.3
Completely correct or completely quiet for emphasis
  • adjective
  • /dɛd/
translation icon : completamente
  • When it comes to the details of the project, I want you to be dead sure about your measurements.

And then not having the leather straps are kind of dead giveaways, Dee says.

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Examples

  • Or: "The only thing I'm sure of is that the past is absolutely dead."

    Academic text (2017)
  • Oh, yeah, dead serious.

  • See how this is dead, dead, dead.

  • But in that though, the American dream is dead, right?

  • "We need to talk about the past." "The past is dead, Robert."

    Fiction book (2002)
  • My family is dead set against us marrying each other.

  • And I'm dead set on living.

  • "Never been to college," Simon said once, dead serious, like he was amazed Bryce thought he had.

    Fiction book (2001)
  • - I'm dead serious.

  • Jacob catches his breath, gives Wes a dead serious look. # JACOB #

    Fiction book (1991)

Synonyms

deathly
vsdead
6 6.5

Very pale, still, or quiet like someone who is dead

is a general absolute intensifier rather than resembling death
silent as the grave
vsdead
  • Literature
1 5.7

Completely quiet with no sound at all

is a general intensifier used for silence and other qualities

Idioms

dead set
  • Informal
18 6.5

Firmly decided to do something or strongly against doing it

15 8.4

To refuse to do something because you strongly dislike it

caught dead
  • Informal
15 8.8

Not wanting people to see you doing or wearing something embarrassing

15 5.5

Become successful or active again after a long time away

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

Unable to continue because progress has stopped

left for dead
  • Informal
15 8.3

Abandoned without help in a very dangerous situation

14 3.4

Directly in front of you

dead inside
  • Informal
12 8.5

Having no feelings and unable to enjoy things or care

drop-dead
  • Informal
11 6.7

Very attractive or impressive

dead to rights
  • Informal
11 8.6

Caught clearly doing something wrong

dead last
  • Informal
9 7.2

In the very last position in a race or ranking

Make a dead person alive again using magic or other power

dead set on
  • Informal
9 4.8

Want something very much and do not change their mind

dead and buried
  • Informal
8 3.9

Completely finished and no longer talked about

dead set against
  • Informal
8 6.8

Being completely against an idea or plan

6 4.8

Exactly correct about a fact or answer

6 7.5

Continuing to talk about something already decided and pointless

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

dead asleep
  • Informal
2 3.5

Completely not awake and hard to wake

2 7.1

Very tired after hard physical or mental work

1 9.9

Being numb and empty inside after loss or long sadness

1 7.5

To waste effort on something that cannot succeed

stone dead
  • Informal
1 5.1

Completely without life or totally not working

Refuse to do something because they think it is embarrassing

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

cold, dead hands
  • Informal
9.9

To refuse to give up something unless you are dead

9.5

Too tired to think clearly or pay attention

A past rule or tradition that still controls and prevents change

Exactly as you plan or expect

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

234 1.6

A person or animal that is no longer alive

99 1.0

A person who is no longer alive

91 3.6

A situation where no further progress or solution is possible

28 4.9

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

28 2.7

A street or road that ends and does not go through

dead weight
  • Offensive
22 4.4

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

brain dead
  • Specialized
19 7.4

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

19 6.7

A race result when two or more people finish exactly together

dead ringer
  • Informal
9 7.4

A person who looks exactly like someone else

dead-on
  • Informal
8 6.0

Exactly right and very accurate

8 3.7

A job where you cannot get a better position

8 3.9

The coldest, most severe part of winter

7 3.5

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

dead language
  • Specialized
5 8.9

A language that no one speaks as a first language anymore

living dead
  • Literature
5 8.6

A dead body that comes back to life like a zombie

dead air
  • Literature
5 6.3

A short, unplanned silence during a radio or TV broadcast

dead drop
  • Jargon
5 9.3

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

dead duck
  • Informal
4 8.6

A person or thing sure to fail

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

3 3.8

The exact middle point of something

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

dead reckoning
  • Specialized
1 8.1

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

dead wood
  • Offensive
1 6.5

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

1 7.7

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

1 7.7

A law or rule that is no longer enforced

1 8.8

Slow, solemn music played at funerals and memorial services

1 9.3

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

dead center
  • Specialized
1 8.2

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

1 5.6

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

dead hand
  • Archaic
9.9

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

dead hand
  • Formal
9.2

A continuing influence from the past that holds back change

dead load
  • Specialized
6.9

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

7.2

Mail that cannot be delivered or returned to its sender

dead axle
  • Specialized
7.7

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

9.3

A romantic relationship where physical or sexual intimacy has mostly stopped

dead metaphor
  • Literature
7.4

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

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

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

dead-air space
  • Specialized
7.7

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

dead-burned lime
  • Specialized
9.8

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

9.1

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

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

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

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

genetic dead end
  • Specialized
8.2

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

9.9

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

Having no life or power at all

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

How Complete

dead
49 1.3
fairly
895 1.0
somewhat
816 2.0

Surface Forms

dead positive

Etymology

Dead originally meant 'not alive', and that sense of a 'total stop' led to a use meaning 'complete' or 'exact'. That's why 'dead accurate' or 'dead silence' means 'completely' accurate or silent.