(not comparable) Full and complete (usually applied to nouns involving lack of motion, sound, activity, or other signs of life).
(not comparable) Exact; on the dot.
Experiencing pins and needles (paresthesia).
After sitting on my hands for a while, my arms became dead.
(acoustics) Constructed so as not to reflect or transmit sound; soundless; anechoic.
(obsolete) Bringing death; deadly.
(law) Cut off from the rights of a citizen; deprived of the power of enjoying the rights of property.
(rare, especially religion, often with "to") Indifferent to; having no obligation toward; no longer subject to or ruled by (sin, guilt, pleasure, etc).
(linguistics) Of a syllable in languages such as Thai and Burmese: ending abruptly.
Antonym:live
Usage notes
In Middle and Early Modern English, the phrase is dead was more common where the present perfect form has died is common today. Example:
1611, King James Bible
I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain. (Gal. 2:21)
In common uses, "has died" usually implies that the death of an organism has come from internal problems, whereas "is dead" is more commonly used to indicate external causes. For example, "Our dog has died," would be commonly used to indicate the death of a pet; whereas "The deer is dead," would be more commonly used in the context of hunting for meat.
Synonyms
See also Thesaurus:dead
Antonyms
alive
live
living
Translations
Adverb
dead (not comparable)
(degree, informal, colloquial) Exactly.
dead right; dead level; dead flat; dead straight; dead left
dead wrong; dead set; dead serious; dead drunk; dead broke; dead earnest; dead certain; dead slow; dead sure; dead simple; dead honest; dead accurate; dead easy; dead scared; dead solid; dead black; dead white; dead empty
Suddenly and completely.
(informal) As if dead.
dead tired; dead quiet; dead asleep; dead pale; dead cold; dead still
Translations
Noun
dead (uncountable)
(often with "the") Time when coldness, darkness, or stillness is most intense.
The dead of night.The dead of winter.
(with "the") Those (dead people) who have died.
Will the dead rise again?
Translations
Noun
dead (pluraldeads)
(UK)(usually in the plural) Sterile mining waste, often present as many large rocks stacked inside the workings.
(bodybuilding, colloquial)Clipping of deadlift.
Verb
dead (third-person singular simple presentdeads, present participledeading, simple past and past participledeaded)
(transitive) To prevent by disabling; to stop.
1826, The Whole Works of the Right Rev. Edward Reynolds, Lord Bishop of Norwich, collected by Edward Reynolds, Benedict Riveley, and Alexander Chalmers. pp. 227. London: B. Holdsworth.
“What a man should do, when finds his natural impotency dead him in spiritual works”
(transitive) To make dead; to deaden; to deprive of life, force, or vigour.
(transitive, UK, US, slang) To kill.
(transitive, African-American Vernacular, slang, by extension) To discontinue or put an end to (something).
Related terms
Derived terms
References
“dead”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.
Anagrams
Dade, Edda, adde, dade
Chinese
Etymology
Pseudo back-formation from Englishdeadline.
Pronunciation
Verb
dead
(Hong Kong Cantonese, chiefly university slang) to be due by; to have a deadline of
呢份功課今晚dead。[Hong Kong Cantonese, trad.] 呢份功课今晚dead。[Hong Kong Cantonese, simp.]
ni1 fan6 gung1 fo3 gam1 maan5-1det1.[Jyutping]
This homework is due tonight.
French
Etymology
Borrowed from Englishdead.
Pronunciation
IPA(key): /dɛd/
Verb
dead
(slang, anglicism) to succeed (in doing something well, "killing it")
Usage notes
The verb is left unconjugated: il dead, il a dead. Usage is limited to the present, as well as an infinitive or a past participle.
Old English
Alternative forms
ᛞᛠᛞ(dead) — Near Fakenham plaque
Etymology
From Proto-West Germanic*daud, from Proto-Germanic*daudaz. Cognate with Old Frisiandād, Old Saxondōd, Old High Germantōt, Old Norsedauðr, Gothic𐌳𐌰𐌿𐌸𐍃(dauþs).
Pronunciation
IPA(key): /dæ͜ɑːd/
Adjective
dēad
dead
late 9th century, translation of Orosius’ History Against the Pagans
Declension
Derived terms
dēadboren(“stillborn”)
dēadlīċ(“mortal”)
healfdēad(“halfdead”)
Related terms
dēaþ(“death”)
Descendants
Middle English: ded, deed
Scots: dede, deed, deid
English: dead
Yola: deed
See also
sweltan(“to die”)
Old Irish
Alternative forms
dïad
Etymology
From Proto-Celtic*dīwedom, verbal noun of *dīwedeti(“to stop”) (whence Welshdiwedd(“end, ending”)).
Pronunciation
IPA(key): [ˈdʲe.að]
Noun
deadn (genitivedeïd, no plural)
end
Declension
Derived terms
i ndead, i ndïad
Irish: i ndiaidh
Related terms
dí-
feidid
dédenach
Irish: déanach
Descendants
Irish: diaidh
⇒ Middle Irish: co dead(“forever”, literally “to the end”)
Irish: go deo
Scottish Gaelic: dèidh
Manx: jei
Mutation
Further reading
G. Toner, M. Ní Mhaonaigh, S. Arbuthnot, D. Wodtko, M.-L. Theuerkauf, editors (2019), “dead”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language
Matasović, Ranko (2009) “dī-wedo-”, in Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Celtic (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 9), Leiden: Brill, →ISBN, page 100
Volapük
Etymology
Borrowed from Englishdead or death (with the "th" changed to "d").