unalive

American  

[uhn-uh-lahyv] / ˌʌn əˈlaɪv /

verb (used with object)

Slang.

1. to kill (oneself or another person): The point of the game is to unalive all enemies before losing your last life token.

   Is it a cry for help when people on social media talk about unaliving themselves?

   The point of the game is to unalive all enemies before losing your last life token.

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adjective

1. Slang. dead.

   Our unalive goldfish was floating at the top of the fishbowl.

   That joke killed me—I am unalive!

2. (of an inanimate object) lifeless and lacking even the facsimile of life.

   the unalive occupants of the wax museum.

3. (of a living being) unaware of someone or something, or generally isolated, numb, or unresponsive.

   We were unalive to the possibilities of fusion cuisine before our travels.

   She was unalive in the face of her own children’s suffering.

Etymology

Origin of unalive

First recorded in 1820–30 unalive for defs. 2, 3, 4, and in 2015–20 unalive for def. 1; un- ² ( def. ) + alive ( def. ); the recent senses “to kill; die by suicide” are euphemisms to avoid censorship on the internet

Example Sentences

The intent was for them to appear unalive while still getting across a sense of the person they used to be.

From Los Angeles Times

Now she’s a middle school teacher in New Jersey, and when her students’ phones and TikTok access are taken away, their out-loud whining has a 21st-century digital twist: “I feel so unalive.”

From Seattle Times

Beltrama draws a parallel between “unalive” and how a saying like “Let’s go Brandon” has become a way to express disdain for President Joe Biden without using the profane phrase that it’s code for.

From Seattle Times

“I think people understand what they’re doing when they’re using ‘unalive’ as a flip descriptor.”

From Seattle Times

Dictionary.com — the hipper alternative to major English-language dictionaries that so far do not appear to address “unalive” in this sense — uses this example in its definition: “The point of the game is to unalive all enemies before losing your last life token.”

From Seattle Times

Related Words

• do away with
• kill
• murder