⇒ 煤矿主不顾矿工的死活,让他们没日没夜地工作。 (Méikuàngzhǔ bùgù kuànggōng de sǐhuó, ràng tāmen méi rì méi yè de gōngzuò.) The mine manager didn't care at all about his employees' safety and made them workday and night.
副
simply
⇒ 交通灯变绿了但车子死活打不着火。 (Jiāotōngdēng biàn lǜ le dàn chēzi sǐhuó dǎ bù zháo huǒ.) The lights had changed to green, but the car simply wouldn't start.