DEAD


Meaning of DEAD in English

I. ˈded adjective

Etymology: Middle English deed, from Old English dēad; akin to Old Norse dauthr dead, deyja to die, Old High German tōt dead — more at die

Date: before 12th century

1. : deprived of life : no longer alive

2.

a.

(1) : having the appearance of death : deathly

in a dead faint

(2) : lacking power to move, feel, or respond : numb

b. : very tired

c.

(1) : incapable of being stirred emotionally or intellectually : unresponsive

dead to pity

(2) : grown cold : extinguished

dead coals

3.

a. : inanimate , inert

dead matter

b. : barren , infertile

dead soil

c. : no longer producing or functioning : exhausted

a dead battery

4.

a.

(1) : lacking power or effect

a dead law

(2) : no longer having interest, relevance, or significance

a dead issue

b. : no longer in use : obsolete

a dead language

c. : no longer active : extinct

a dead volcano

d. : lacking in gaiety or animation

a dead party

e.

(1) : lacking in commercial activity : quiet

(2) : commercially idle or unproductive

dead capital

f. : lacking elasticity

a dead tennis ball

g. : being out of action or out of use

the phone went dead

specifically : free from any connection to a source of voltage and free from electric charges

h.

(1) : being out of play

a dead ball

(2) : temporarily forbidden to play or to make a certain play in croquet

5.

a. : not running or circulating : stagnant

dead water

b. : not turning

the dead center of a lathe

c. : not imparting motion or power although otherwise functioning

a dead rear axle

d. : lacking warmth, vigor, or taste

6.

a. : absolutely uniform

a dead level

b.

(1) : unerring

(2) : exact

dead center of the target

(3) : certain to be doomed

he's dead if he's late for curfew

(4) : irrevocable

a dead loss

c. : abrupt

brought to a dead stop

d.

(1) : complete , absolute

a dead silence

(2) : all-out

caught it on the dead run

7. : devoid of former occupants

dead villages

• dead·ness noun

- dead in the water

- dead to rights

- over one's dead body

Synonyms:

dead , defunct , deceased , departed , late mean devoid of life. dead applies literally to what is deprived of vital force but is used figuratively of anything that has lost any attribute (as energy, activity, radiance) suggesting life

a dead, listless performance

defunct stresses cessation of active existence or operation

a defunct television series

deceased , departed , and late apply to persons who have died recently. deceased is the preferred term in legal use

the estate of the deceased

departed is used usually as a euphemism

our departed sister

late is used especially with reference to a person in a specific relation or status

the company's late president

II. noun

( plural dead )

Date: before 12th century

1. : one that is dead — usually used collectively

2. : the state of being dead

raised him from the dead — Colossians 2:12 (Revised Standard Version)

3. : the time of greatest quiet

the dead of night

III. adverb

Date: 14th century

1. : absolutely , utterly

dead certain

finished dead last

2. : suddenly and completely

stopped dead

3. : directly

dead ahead

Merriam-Webster's Collegiate English vocabulary.      Энциклопедический словарь английского языка Merriam Webster.