Dead-alive

adj

adj ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Adjective
  1. 1
    Dull; lifeless; lacking originality and vitality.

    "1906, Hilaire Belloc, , introduction to Essays in Literature and History by James Anthony Froude In one epoch lubricity, in another fanaticism, in a third dulness and a dead-alive copying of the past, are the faults which criticism finds to attack."

Example

More examples

"1906, Hilaire Belloc, , introduction to Essays in Literature and History by James Anthony Froude In one epoch lubricity, in another fanaticism, in a third dulness and a dead-alive copying of the past, are the faults which criticism finds to attack."

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.