like a zombie
9
8.4
- idiom
- Informal
- I knew from experience that he was likely to sit for days, eating his meals like a zombie and washing only at my insistence.
- walk like a zombie
- feel like a zombie
- look like a zombie
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Watch on YouTubePeople say you will find it eventually, but meanwhile, meanwhile, I live like a zombie?
- People say you will find it eventually, but meanwhile, meanwhile, I live like a zombie?
Examples
-
She should have just canceled instead of walking around like a zombie.
-
"You were acting like a zombie," he tells me.
Fiction book (1999) -
The stuff makes me feel like a zombie when I take it.
-
You walked in the door like a zombie.
-
Bob walks through the city like a zombie, eyes fixed forward.
Fiction book (1991) -
He's been standing there like a zombie all day.
-
Painkillers, she said, made her feel like a zombie.
Fiction book (1990) -
Jacob stands next to her and stares at the crowd like a zombie.
Fiction book (1991) -
Vitti comes out carrying an overnight bag, walking like a zombie.
Fiction book (2002) -
After staying up all night, I felt like a zombie during my morning class.
Synonyms
3
4.1
In a sleepy, slow, confused way after waking or when very tired
3
7.0
In a slow, relaxed way with little energy
3
5.8
In a way that shows no feeling in the body or mind
1
2.4
In a sleepy, not fully awake way
1
7.4
You are very still and not aware of things around you
1
5.4
In a way that shows no energy or interest
1
9.1
In a very still way and not responding or thinking
1
7.1
As if confused and not fully aware
1
9.5
Moving slowly and without full attention like someone sleepwalking
1
6.7
Slowly and without energy
1
9.9
Moving or acting slowly and automatically like a sleepwalker
1
7.7
Looking or moving like a tired, lifeless person
1
6.5
In a slow, tired way showing little energy
1
8.7
Moving slowly and without much energy
1
8.1
In a sleepy way, as if nearly asleep
Antonyms
How Alert
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase is a straightforward simile: combining 'like' (similar to) with 'a zombie' (an unresponsive/automaton-like figure) directly yields the meaning 'in a dazed, unresponsive, or automatic manner.' This compositional, image-based comparison is cross-linguistically familiar and would be understandable to a B1 learner who knows the constituent words.
Etymology
The phrase like a zombie comes from old horror films and stories where a zombie is a dead person who walks slowly with blank eyes and no thought. So saying someone moves like a zombie means they are 'dazed' or moving in an 'automatic' way.