dead

[ded]

adjective

deader, deadest 

1. no longer living; deprived of life.

   dead people;

   dead flowers;

   dead animals.

   Antonyms: alive, living

2. brain-dead.

3. not endowed with life; inanimate.

   dead stones.

4. resembling death; deathlike.

   a dead sleep;

   a dead faint.

5. bereft of sensation; numb.

   He was half dead with fright.

   My leg feels dead.

6. lacking sensitivity of feeling; insensitive.

   dead to the needs of others.

   Synonyms: cold, callous, indifferent, unfeeling

7. incapable of being emotionally moved; unresponsive.

   dead to the nuances of the music.

8. (of an emotion) no longer felt; ended; extinguished: dead affections.

   a dead passion;

   dead affections.

9. no longer current or prevalent, as in effect, significance, or practice; obsolete.

   a dead law;

   a dead controversy.

10. no longer functioning, operating, or productive.

    a dead motor;

    a dead battery.

    Synonyms: inoperative, inert

11. not moving or circulating; stagnant; stale.

    dead water;

    dead air.

    Synonyms: motionless, still

12. utterly tired; exhausted.

    They felt dead from the six-hour trip.

13. (of a language) no longer in use as a sole means of oral communication among a people.

    Latin is a dead language.

14. without vitality, spirit, enthusiasm, or the like.

    a dead party.

15. lacking the customary activity; dull; inactive.

    a dead business day.

16. complete; absolute.

    dead silence;

    The plan was a dead loss.

    Synonyms: total, entire, utter

17. sudden or abrupt, as the complete stoppage of an action.

    The bus came to a dead stop.

18. put out; extinguished.

    a dead cigarette.

19. without resilience or bounce.

    a dead tennis ball.

20. infertile; barren.

    dead land.

    Synonyms: sterile

21. exact.

    the dead center of a circle.

22. accurate; sure; unerring.

    a dead shot.

23. direct; straight.

    a dead line.

24. tasteless or flat, as a beverage.

    a dead soft drink.

25. flat rather than glossy, bright, or brilliant.

    The house was painted dead white.

26. without resonance; anechoic.

    dead sound;

    a dead wall surface of a recording studio.

27. not fruitful; unproductive.

    dead capital.

28. Law.,  deprived of civil rights so that one is in the state of civil death, especially deprived of the rights of property.

29. Sports.,  out of play.

    a dead ball.

30. (of a golf ball) lying so close to the hole as to make holing on the next stroke a virtual certainty.

31. (of type or copy) having been used or rejected.

32. Electricity.

    1. free from any electric connection to a source of potential difference and from electric charge.

    2. not having a potential different from that of the earth.

33. Metallurgy.,  (of steel)

    1. fully killed.

    2. unresponsive to heat treatment.

34. (of the mouth of a horse) no longer sensitive to the pressure of a bit.

35. noting any rope in a tackle that does not pass over a pulley or is not rove through a block.

noun

1. the period of greatest darkness, coldness, etc..

   the dead of night;

   the dead of winter.

2. the dead, dead persons collectively.

   Prayers were recited for the dead.

adverb

1. absolutely; completely.

   dead right;

   dead tired.

2. with sudden and total stoppage of motion, action, or the like.

   He stopped dead.

3. directly; exactly; straight.

   The island lay dead ahead.

dead

/ dɛd /

adjective

1. 1. no longer alive

   2. ( as noun )

      the dead

2. not endowed with life; inanimate

3. no longer in use, valid, effective, or relevant

   a dead issue

   a dead language

4. unresponsive or unaware; insensible

   he is dead to my strongest pleas

5. lacking in freshness, interest, or vitality

   a dead handshake

6. devoid of physical sensation; numb

   his gums were dead from the anaesthetic

7. resembling death; deathlike

   a dead sleep

8. no longer burning or hot

   dead coals

9. (of flowers or foliage) withered; faded

10. (prenominal) (intensifier)

    a dead stop

    a dead loss

11. informal,  very tired

12. electronics

    1. drained of electric charge; fully discharged

       the battery was dead

    2. not connected to a source of potential difference or electric charge

13. lacking acoustic reverberation

    a dead sound

    a dead surface

14. sport (of a ball, etc) out of play

15. unerring; accurate; precise (esp in the phrase a dead shot )

16. lacking resilience or bounce

    a dead ball

17. printing

    1. (of type) set but no longer needed for use Compare standing

    2. (of copy) already composed

18. not yielding a return; idle

    dead capital

19. informal,  certain to suffer a terrible fate; doomed

    you're dead if your mother catches you at that

20. (of colours) not glossy or bright; lacklustre

21. stagnant

    dead air

22. military shielded from view, as by a geographic feature or environmental condition

    a dead zone

    dead space

23. informal,  completely dead

24. informal,  stupid or unintelligent

25. informal,  unsuccessful, and with little hope of future success

    the talks are now dead in the water

26. informal,  unaware of one's surroundings, esp fast asleep or very drunk

27. 1. to abandon

    2. informal,  to surpass or outdistance by far

28. informal,  to refuse to wear or to go to

noun

1. a period during which coldness, darkness, or some other quality associated with death is at its most intense

   the dead of winter

adverb

1. (intensifier)

   dead easy

   stop dead

   dead level

2. exactly right

Other Word Forms

• deadness noun
• half-dead adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of dead¹

First recorded before 950; Middle English deed, Old English dēad; cognate with Gothic dauths, German tot, Old Norse daudhr; originally, past participle; die ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of dead¹

Old English dēad; related to Old High German tōt, Old Norse dauthr; see _die ¹

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. dead to rights, in the very act of committing a crime, offense, or mistake; red-handed: Also bang to rights

   Just when you think you’ve got the killer dead to rights, you find out there’s a whole lot more going on.

2. dead in the water, completely inactive or inoperable; no longer in action or under consideration.

   Our plans to expand the business have been dead in the water for the past two months.

More idioms and phrases containing dead

• beat a dead horse
• caught dead
• cut someone dead
• death
• drop dead
• knock dead
• more dead than alive
• over my dead body
• quick and the dead
• stop cold (dead)
• to wake the dead

Synonym Study

Dead, deceased, extinct, lifeless refer to something that does not have or appear to have life. Dead is usually applied to something that had life but from which life is now gone: dead trees. Deceased, a more formal word than dead, is applied to human beings who no longer have life: a deceased member of the church. Extinct is applied to a species, genus, or the like, no member of which is any longer alive: Mastodons are now extinct. Lifeless can be applied to a living thing that no longer appears to be alive ( the lifeless body of an unidentified man ) or to something that may never have been a living thing ( the lifeless materials of these minerals ).

Example Sentences

“There’s a lot of stories that literature is dead, or that literary communities are dying, but clearly they’re not. They’re alive and they’re well and we have to remember that,” Gay says.

From Los Angeles Times

Nasser hospital in the southern city of Khan Younis said another two dead people had been brought there.

From BBC

It tells the story of Rector of Champton, Canon Daniel Clement who finds himself caught up in a murder case when the dead body of one of his parishioners is discovered at the church.

From BBC

She was later confirmed to be brain dead.

From BBC

After two years of war, there is a chance of a deal that will end the killing and destruction in Gaza and return the Israeli hostages, living and dead, to their families.

From BBC

Related Words

• boring 
• flat 
• spiritless 
• unanimated www.thesaurus.com
• uninteresting 
• vapid 
• wooden