Definition Definition

dead - Meaning and Examples

Meaning of 'dead' (Webster Dictionary)

1 . Dead [ a.]
- Deprived of life; -- opposed to alive and living; reduced to that state of a being in which the organs of motion and life have irrevocably ceased to perform their functions; as, a dead tree; a dead man.
- Destitute of life; inanimate; as, dead matter.
- Resembling death in appearance or quality; without show of life; deathlike; as, a dead sleep.
- Still as death; motionless; inactive; useless; as, dead calm; a dead load or weight.
- So constructed as not to transmit sound; soundless; as, a dead floor.
- Unproductive; bringing no gain; unprofitable; as, dead capital; dead stock in trade.
- Lacking spirit; dull; lusterless; cheerless; as, dead eye; dead fire; dead color, etc.
- Monotonous or unvaried; as, a dead level or pain; a dead wall.
- Sure as death; unerring; fixed; complete; as, a dead shot; a dead certainty.
- Bringing death; deadly.
- Wanting in religious spirit and vitality; as, dead faith; dead works.
- Flat; without gloss; -- said of painting which has been applied purposely to have this effect.
- Not brilliant; not rich; thus, brown is a dead color, as compared with crimson.
- Cut off from the rights of a citizen; deprived of the power of enjoying the rights of property; as, one banished or becoming a monk is civilly dead.
- Not imparting motion or power; as, the dead spindle of a lathe, etc. See Spindle.
2 . Dead [ adv.]
- To a degree resembling death; to the last degree; completely; wholly.
3 . Dead [ n.]
- The most quiet or deathlike time; the period of profoundest repose, inertness, or gloom; as, the dead of winter.
- One who is dead; -- commonly used collectively.
4 . Dead [ v. i.]
- To die; to lose life or force.
5 . Dead [ v. t.]
- To make dead; to deaden; to deprive of life, force, or vigor.

Meaning of 'dead' (Princeton's WordNet)

1 . dead [ n]
Meaning (1):
- a time when coldness (or some other quality associated with death) is intense
Example in sentence:
  • the dead of winter
Meaning (2):
- people who are no longer living
Example in sentence:
  • they buried the dead
3 . dead [ a]
Meaning (3):
- no longer having or seeming to have or expecting to have life
Example in sentence:
  • a dead pallor;
  • he was marked as a dead man by the assassin;
  • the nerve is dead
Meaning (4):
- not showing characteristics of life especially the capacity to sustain life; no longer exerting force or having energy or heat
Example in sentence:
  • dead coals;
  • dead soil;
  • Mars is a dead planet;
  • the fire is dead
5 . dead [ r]
Meaning (5):
- completely and without qualification; used informally as intensifiers
Example in sentence:
  • a perfectly idiotic idea;
  • an absolutely magnificent painting;
  • dead right;
  • utterly miserable;
  • was dead tired;
  • you can be dead sure of my innocence;
  • you're perfectly right
Meaning (6):
- quickly and without warning
Example in sentence:
  • he stopped suddenly
7 . dead [ s]
Meaning (7):
- drained of electric charge; discharged
Example in sentence:
  • a dead battery;
  • left the lights on and came back to find the battery drained
Meaning (8):
- no longer having force or relevance
Example in sentence:
  • a dead issue
Meaning (9):
- unerringly accurate
Example in sentence:
  • a dead shot;
  • took dead aim
Meaning (10):
- out of use or operation because of a fault or breakdown
Example in sentence:
  • a dead telephone line;
  • the motor is dead
Meaning (11):
- lacking resilience or bounce
Example in sentence:
  • a dead tennis ball
Meaning (12):
- devoid of physical sensation; numb
Example in sentence:
  • a public desensitized by continuous television coverage of atrocities;
  • his gums were dead from the novocain;
  • she felt no discomfort as the dentist drilled her deadened tooth
Meaning (13):
- very tired
Example in sentence:
  • bushed after all that exercise;
  • I'm dead after that long trip;
  • so beat I could flop down and go to sleep anywhere;
  • was all in at the end of the day
Meaning (14):
- the complete stoppage of an action
Example in sentence:
  • came to a dead stop
Meaning (15):
- physically inactive
Example in sentence:
  • Crater Lake is in the crater of a dead volcano of the Cascade Range
Meaning (16):
- not circulating or flowing
Example in sentence:
  • dead air;
  • dead water;
  • stagnant water
Meaning (17):
- not yielding a return
Example in sentence:
  • dead capital;
  • idle funds
Meaning (18):
- lacking acoustic resonance
Example in sentence:
  • dead sounds characteristic of some compact discs;
  • the dead wall surfaces of a recording studio
Meaning (19):
- not surviving in active use
Example in sentence:
  • Latin is a dead language
Meaning (20):
- (followed by `to') not showing human feeling or sensitivity; unresponsive
Example in sentence:
  • numb to the cries for mercy;
  • passersby were dead to our plea for help
Meaning (21):
- devoid of activity
Example in sentence:
  • this is a dead town; nothing ever happens here

Nearby Words:

deacon deaconess deaconhood deaconry deaconship dead beat dead-eye dead-hearted dead-pay dead-reckoning

See 'dead' also in:

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