释义 |
dead I. \ˈded\ adjective (sometimes -er/-est) Etymology: Middle English deed, from Old English dēad; akin to Old High German tōt dead, Old Norse dauthr, Gothic dauths; derivative from the root of Old Norse deyja to die — more at die 1. : deprived of life : having ended existence as a living or growing thing — used of organisms or any of their parts or organs < a dead wasp > < a dead rabbit > < dead leaves > < dead of scarlet fever > < dead by his own hand > 2. a. (1) : having the appearance of death or of being dead : deathly < in a dead faint > : insensible < dead to the world > (2) : without power to move, feel, or respond : numb < my arm feels dead > b. : completely exhausted : very tired < after two hours of hiking they were just dead > c. (1) : incapable of feeling or of being stirred emotionally or intellectually : impervious especially to pleas or arguments : unresponsive < a girl with a heart dead to pity > < completely dead and deaf to his father's advice > : lacking sensitivity or delicacy of feeling < dead to all sense of honor > (2) of a sentiment : grown cold : extinguished < a dead passion > < a dead love > 3. a. : not naturally endowed with life : inanimate, inert < dead matter > b. : not producing or sustaining life : barren, infertile < dead soil > < a dead rocky waste > c. : no longer producing or functioning : exhausted, worked-out < a dead oil well > < a dead mine > < a dead battery > 4. a. : lacking power or effect < a dead law > : no longer of concern : no longer having interest, relevance, or significance < a dead issue > b. (1) : lacking currency : defunct, obsolete < a dead custom > (2) of a language : no longer in ordinary spoken use c. : no longer active : extinct < a dead volcano > d. : lacking in fervor or warmth < a dead description > : lacking in gaiety, animation, or amusing quality < a very dead party > e. (1) : lacking in commercial activity : quiet < a dead produce market > (2) : commercially idle or unproductive < dead capital > : lacking in salability : being unsold < dead stock > f. : lacking responsiveness or elasticity < a dead tennis ball > < a dead string on a viol > g. : out of action or out of use < a dead electric circuit > < a dead telephone line > < dead storage > h. (1) of a ball : out of play < in football the ball is dead after an incompleted forward pass > (2) of a player : temporarily forbidden to play or make a certain play < a croquet player may be dead on another player's ball > i. printing (1) : being something that has been used or is not to be used < dead copy > < dead type > < dead artwork > (2) : being something that is routed or to be routed off as not meant to print < dead-metal areas in engravings and electrotypes > j. : out of play : not usable < a hand that is not eligible to win is dead > k. : having a density greater than water — used of oils distilled from tar l. : having lost the qualities required for workability < dead plaster will not set hard when mixed with water > < dead stone, yielding a dull thud when struck with the sculptor's hammer > 5. a. : not running or circulating : stagnant < dead water > < dead air > b. : not turning < the dead center of a lathe > < cut between a dead knife blade and a turning one > c. of mail : undeliverable and unreturnable — see dead letter 6. a. : having no fire, warmth, or glow < a dead cigar > < a dead fire > b. : lacking brilliance or luster : dull < a dead glossy finish > c. : lacking tang or taste < a dead wine > d. : muffled, deadened < a dead sound > 7. : having a quality of completeness or finality 8. a. (1) : unrelieved by any breaks or deviations : absolutely uniform — often used in the phrase dead level < the dead level of a prairie > < reducing all to a dead level of mediocrity > (2) : characterized by the utmost exertion of effort, physical or mental < a dead pull > b. (1) : completely certain as to outcome : inescapable, unerring < a dead shot with a rifle > : exact < hit the dead center of the target > (2) : as good as dead : doomed < a dead pigeon > (3) : irrevocable, unrecoverable < a dead loss > c. : marked by complete and sudden cessation (as of motion or action) : abrupt < brought to a dead stop > < stopped him dead in his tracks > d. : complete, total, absolute < a dead silence fell > < spoke with dead certainty of his return > 9. : being abandoned by its former human occupants : deserted < a dead mining town > < dead villages > 10. : characterized by high absorption of sound : anechoic < a dead wall > 11. : free from any connection to a source of voltage and free from electric charges : having the same potential as that of the ground — used of current-carrying apparatus or circuits that may at other times be alive 12. a. : lacking motion < the dead spindle of a lathe > b. : not imparting motion or power although otherwise functioning < the dead rear axle of a floating transmission > c. : having the principal function in abeyance < the dead time between power strokes > d. : marked by a delay in operation or by inactivity between operations or actions — used in referring to a mechanical or electronic device < dead time of a counter > II. noun (plural dead) Etymology: Middle English deed 1. : one that is dead — now usually used collectively < the dead and the living > 2. : the time of greatest quiet : the period of profoundest inertness or gloom < the dead of winter > < when the drum beat at dead of night — Thomas Campbell > 3. : something dead: as a. dead plural : refuse from a mine b. slang : an article of dead mail III. verb (-ed/-ing/-s) Etymology: Middle English deden, from Old English dēadian to die, from dēad, adjective intransitive verb obsolete : die transitive verb chiefly dialect : deaden IV. adverb Etymology: dead (I) 1. a. : to a degree or in a manner resembling or characteristic of death : to the last degree : absolutely, utterly, entirely, exactly < dead ripe > < dead-tired > < dead certain > b. dialect Britain : extremely, very < it seems to me dead strange — C.J.Dennis > 2. : with suddenness and completeness < he stopped dead > 3. : directly < the police were dead against the plan > < a dead-square opening > V. \ˈded, -ē-, -ā-\ noun (-s) Etymology: Middle English dede, deed, probably alteration (influenced by deed, adjective) of deeth — more at death dialect Britain : death VI. adjective • - dead in the water |