Undead

//ʌnˈdɛd// adj, noun

adj, noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A creature that is undead; that is, dead but still animate.

    "In the zombie movie, an army of the undead accosted some unsuspecting teenagers."

Adjective
  1. 1
    Not dead; alive. not-comparable, obsolete
  2. 2
    Pertaining to a corpse, though having qualities of life. not-comparable
  3. 3
    Being animate, though non-living. not-comparable

    "When Anna and John finally break out of their self-centered bubbles to the shock that they must battle to the death an undead neighbor in a giant snowman costume, it plays like a poignant comment on movie teenagers' tendency to indulge their inner lives, ignorant of the world around them."

Synonyms

All synonyms
living dead

Example

More examples

"The undead feed on human flesh."

Etymology

From Middle English undede, equivalent to un- + dead. The first attestation is from around 1400. The term was revived, popularized, and imbued with supernatural connotations by its usage in Bram Stoker's novel Dracula (1897).

Related phrases

frankenstein's monsterliving dead

More for "undead"

SynonymsSentencesPronunciationTranslate

Next best steps

Find stronger synonymsSee usage examplesCheck pronunciationBrowse writing guides

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