Dead (Adjective)
Meaning 1
Lacking resilience or bounce; "a dead tennis ball".
Classification
All adjective clusters.
Examples
- The dead balloon hung limply from the ceiling.
- The trampoline was old and its mat was dead, failing to provide the usual springy bounce.
- After a series of punctures, the tire was effectively dead, unable to hold air any longer.
- The dead branches on the tree cracked in the gentle breeze.
- The exercise ball was dead, its once-tight surface now soft and sagging.
Related Words
Meaning 2
Devoid of activity; "this is a dead town; nothing ever happens here".
Classification
All adjective clusters.
Examples
- The city's downtown area was dead on Sundays, with most shops and restaurants closed.
- The party was dead by midnight, with only a handful of stragglers remaining.
- After the factory closed, the town became dead, with many residents moving away in search of work.
- The website was dead, with no updates or new content posted in months.
- The once-thriving neighborhood was now dead, with boarded-up storefronts and empty streets.
Meaning 3
Not showing characteristics of life especially the capacity to sustain life; no longer exerting force or having energy or heat; "Mars is a dead planet"; "dead soil"; "dead coals"; "the fire is dead".
Classification
All adjective clusters.
Examples
- The dead tree stood alone in the barren landscape, a stark reminder of the devastating drought.
- The once-thriving city was now a dead zone, devoid of any signs of life or activity.
- The fire had burned out, leaving only dead coals and a faint scent of smoke in the air.
- The astronauts were disappointed to find that the planet they had been exploring was a dead world, devoid of any signs of life.
- The garden was struggling to survive in the dead soil, which lacked the necessary nutrients to support plant growth.
Antonyms
Related Words
Meaning 4
Not surviving in active use; "Latin is a dead language".
Classification
All adjective clusters.
Examples
- The once-thriving town is now a dead community, with many abandoned homes and businesses.
- Dodo is considered a dead species, with no known living members.
- The phrase "thou art" is a dead phrase, no longer used in modern English.
- Latin is a dead language that is still studied by scholars today.
- Cassette tapes are a dead format, replaced by digital music and streaming services.
Related Words
Meaning 5
Unerringly accurate; "a dead shot"; "took dead aim".
Classification
All adjective clusters.
Examples
- The sniper was known for being a dead shot, able to hit her target from a mile away.
- The archer took dead aim at the bullseye, her focus unwavering as she released the arrow.
- The quarterback threw a dead pass to the receiver, who caught it easily in the end zone.
- The golfer lined up her putt and made a dead shot, sinking the ball into the hole with ease.
- The hunter took dead aim at the deer, her rifle steady as she squeezed the trigger.
Meaning 6
The complete stoppage of an action; "came to a dead stop".
Classification
All adjective clusters.
Examples
- The bus came to a dead stop in the middle of the intersection due to a red light.
- Her attempts at convincing him came to a dead halt when he flatly refused.
- The engine suddenly fell to a dead silence after hours of loud roaring.
- Their project hit a dead end after the funding was withdrawn.
- The debate ended with a deadlocked vote, resulting in a tie.
Meaning 7
Not circulating or flowing; "dead air"; "dead water"; "stagnant water".
Classification
All adjective clusters.
Examples
- The water in the pond was dead and stagnant, a perfect breeding ground for mosquitoes.
- The lack of movement in the room created a sense of dead air, making everyone feel uncomfortable.
- The stagnant water in the fountain had become a dead zone, devoid of any aquatic life.
- The oil spill had created a large patch of dead water, where no marine life could survive.
- The pool's filtration system was broken, leaving the water dead and cloudy with algae.
Synonyms
Related Words
Meaning 8
Drained of electric charge; discharged; "a dead battery"; "left the lights on and came back to find the battery drained".
Classification
All adjective clusters.
Examples
- The GPS stopped working because it had a dead battery.
- I left my phone on all night and now it's dead.
- The car wouldn't start with a dead battery like that.
- After taking a few dozen photos, my camera's battery was completely dead.
- She forgot to turn off the headlights and now the battery is dead.
Synonyms
Related Words
Meaning 9
Lacking acoustic resonance; "dead sounds characteristic of some compact discs"; "the dead wall surfaces of a recording studio".
Classification
All adjective clusters.
Examples
- The dead space in the concert hall made it difficult for the musicians to hear each other's notes clearly.
- The new recording software can remove the dead spots in the audio file where the sound drops out.
- The dead acoustics in the hotel lobby made conversation almost impossible in the cavernous space.
- The audiophiles were disappointed with the dead sound of the MP3 files compared to the warm tones of vinyl records.
- The sound engineer spent hours fine-tuning the speakers to eliminate the dead zones in the auditorium where the audience couldn't hear the music.
Meaning 10
No longer having force or relevance; "a dead issue".
Classification
All adjective clusters.
Examples
- The politician's promise to reform the economy was a dead issue after she failed to deliver on her previous campaign vows.
- The once-thriving downtown area was now a dead zone, devoid of life and activity.
- The team's chances of making the playoffs were dead after their devastating loss to their arch-rivals.
- The topic of space exploration was a dead one in the minds of most politicians, who prioritized more pressing domestic issues.
- The scandal had been a dead story for months, until new evidence emerged that sparked a fresh wave of outrage.
Meaning 11
Out of use or operation because of a fault or breakdown; "a dead telephone line"; "the motor is dead".
Classification
All adjective clusters.
Examples
- The company's website was down because the server was dead after a cyber attack.
- The television was dead, and we had to call a repairman to fix it.
- The town's only gas station was dead, with no fuel available for travelers.
- My car's battery is dead and I need a jump start to get it going.
- The fire alarm system in the building is dead due to a faulty electrical connection.
Related Words
Meaning 12
(followed by `to') not showing human feeling or sensitivity; unresponsive; "passersby were dead to our plea for help"; "numb to the cries for mercy".
Classification
All adjective clusters.
Examples
- The crowd was dead to our music, staring blankly ahead without emotion.
- She was dead to his romantic overtures, barely acknowledging his presence.
- The politician seemed dead to the plight of the homeless individuals gathered outside her office.
- The jury was dead to the defendant's emotional plea for leniency, their expressions unchanging.
- The teacher was dead to her students' struggles, lecturing on without concern for their well-being.
Synonyms
Related Words
Meaning 13
Physically inactive; "Crater Lake is in the crater of a dead volcano of the Cascade Range".
Classification
All adjective clusters.
Examples
- The dead tree stood for years after being struck by lightning.
- The hot springs are located on the slope of a dead volcano that erupted thousands of years ago.
- The rock face was formed from the remains of a dead coral reef that once thrived in the area.
- The land was once fertile but is now barren and dead due to centuries of erosion.
- The mine was closed after it was determined that the vein was dead and no more minerals could be extracted.
Related Words
Meaning 14
Devoid of physical sensation; numb; "his gums were dead from the novocain"; "she felt no discomfort as the dentist drilled her deadened tooth"; "a public desensitized by continuous television coverage of atrocities".
Classification
All adjective clusters.
Examples
- His lips were dead from the cold, making it difficult to speak clearly.
- She felt no pain as the doctor injected medicine into her deadened arm.
- After the accident, her leg was dead, unable to feel anything below the knee.
- The patient's skin was dead to the touch, a result of years of poor circulation.
- Years of walking on concrete had left his feet dead, unable to feel the rough terrain.
Synonyms
Related Words
Meaning 15
Not yielding a return; "dead capital"; "idle funds".
Classification
All adjective clusters.
Examples
- The company's dead assets tied up in old machinery were a huge drain on their finances.
- The entrepreneur's dead money in a low-interest savings account could have been invested more profitably.
- The proposed tax reforms aim to stimulate economic growth by mobilizing dead capital held in underutilized properties.
- In some countries, dead funds worth millions of dollars sit in dormant accounts, failing to benefit either the economy or the original depositors.
- Analysts pointed to the bank's idle reserves, which they considered dead money that could be better used to finance new business ventures.
Synonyms
Meaning 16
No longer having or seeming to have or expecting to have life; "the nerve is dead"; "a dead pallor"; "he was marked as a dead man by the assassin".
Classification
All adjective clusters.
Examples
- The once-thriving factory had been dead for years, a relic of a bygone era.
- The dead weight of the heavy box made it difficult to lift.
- The doctor pronounced the patient dead at the scene of the accident.
- The flowers had been dead for weeks, but the vase still held their wilted remains.
- The dead silence in the room was oppressive, making everyone feel uncomfortable.
Antonyms
Related Words
Meaning 17
Very tired; "was all in at the end of the day"; "so beat I could flop down and go to sleep anywhere"; "bushed after all that exercise"; "I'm dead after that long trip".
Classification
All adjective clusters.
Usages
Examples
- I'm dead after working 12 hours straight on this project.
- She was dead after the long hike and just collapsed onto the couch.
- I'm dead after staying up all night to finish this assignment.
- After the intense workout, I was dead and could barely make it home.
- I'm dead after the non-stop traveling for the past week.