INDEX:
1. no longer alive
RELATED WORDS
opposite
↑ ALIVE
body of a dead person : ↑ BODY
see also
↑ DIE
↑ KILL
↑ GHOST
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1. no longer alive
▷ dead /ded/ [adjective]
someone or something that is dead has stopped living :
▪ She’s no longer breathing - I think she’s dead.
▪ The dead man’s wife was questioned by police.
▪ The doctor told him that unless he stopped drinking he would be dead within a year.
▪ It was autumn, and the path was covered in dead leaves.
▪ These flowers look dead - shall I throw them away?
▪ Following the shoot-out six people were dead and three were wounded.
dead on arrival
already dead when arriving at a hospital
▪ One of the gunshot victims was pronounced dead on arrival at City Hospital.
▷ late /leɪt/ [adjective only before noun] formal
use this as a polite way of talking about someone who has died, especially someone who died recently :
somebody’s late husband/wife/mother/father
▪ She set up the fund in memory of her late husband.
the late President Marcos/John Lennon etc
▪ He is a big fan of reggae music and the late Bob Marley.
▷ stone-dead/dead as a doornail /ˌstəʊn ˈded, ˌded əz ə ˈdɔːʳneɪl/ [adjective not before noun] informal
completely dead - use this when you are completely certain that someone or something is dead :
▪ By the time we found him he was stone-dead.
▪ Tom poked the bird with a stick. ‘Yeah, it’s as dead as a doornail.’
▷ lifeless /ˈlaɪfləs/ [adjective]
something that is lifeless shows no sign of life - use this about someone’s body, or someone’s hand or face :
▪ He took the dead girl’s hand. It felt cold and lifeless.
▪ The men found Dunlap’s lifeless body slumped in the front seat of his car.
▷ the dead /ðə ˈded/ [plural noun] especially written
people who have died - use this especially about people who died in wars or accidents :
▪ a religious service to commemorate the dead of two World Wars
▪ Four of the dead had been travelling in the same car.
▪ Ordinary Americans are beginning the heart-breaking task of counting their dead.
▷ the deceased /ðə dɪˈsiːst/ [] formal
a dead person, especially one who has died recently - used especially in news reports and legal contexts :
▪ The deceased died from an overdose of diet pills.
deceased [adjective]
dead - use this especially when talking about someone’s relative who has died recently :
▪ The President was an old friend of her deceased father, Dr. Bernstein.
▷ posthumous /ˈpɒstjɑməsǁˈpɑːstʃə-/ [adjective usually before noun]
given to someone or done for someone after they die :
▪ Bentley’s relatives are demanding a posthumous pardon from the government.
posthumously [adverb]
▪ She was posthumously awarded the Queen’s medal for bravery.
▷ be pushing up daisies /biː ˌpʊʃɪŋ ʌp ˈdeɪziz/ [verb phrase] spoken
if someone is pushing up daisies, they are dead - used humorously :
▪ He talks about spending his parents’ money as if they were already pushing up daisies.