adj
Meaning 1
Not alive; dead or inanimate.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Examples
- Near-synonym: nonlive
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: nonlive
Antonyms: none provided
Standard Lemma guide
unalive
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
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General-American, Received-Pronunciation: /ˌʌn.əˈlaɪv/
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US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
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rhymes with -aɪv
adj
Meaning 2
Lacking vivacity and liveliness; dull or sterile.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
adj
Meaning 3
Lacking energy and feeling; passionless; mechanical.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
adj
Meaning 4
Lacking a fulfilling life; meaningless.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
adj
Meaning 5
Lacking consciousness; unresponsive, indifferent or oblivious.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: often
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 6
One who is unalive.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
verb
Meaning 7
To make unalive; to kill, especially oneself; to commit suicide.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: proscribed, transitive
Examples
- Jeffrey Epstein is thought to have unalived himself, but Tucker Carlson calls this position into question.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
verb
Meaning 8
To die.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: intransitive, proscribed
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
History
Etymology
From un- + alive. Internet usage originates from circumventing social media algorithms that were believed to penalise the use of the words related to death, especially “die”, “kill”, and “suicide”. According to linguist Adam Aleksic, the word in the verb sense of “die, kill” first appeared in a 2013 episode of Ultimate Spider-Man, exploding in usage after a few viral videos in early 2021 popularized it. Since early 2022, unalive has become very widespread even outside Internet usage contexts, especially among adolescents. Aleksic argues that the word unalive has gained so much popularity because of a time-invariant tendency to refer to death by euphemism; compare the word die’s displacement of swelt, or the use of pass away.
Across languages
Translations
17 source translations are retained for this English entry.
- Japanese: 56す (korosu) — online euphemism for "kill"
- Lombard: desviv — online euphemism for "kill"
- Lombard: disviv — online euphemism for "kill"
- Polish: unieżywić — online euphemism for "kill"
- Spanish: desvivir — online euphemism for "kill"
- Spanish: ultimar — online euphemism for "kill"
- Spanish: raicearse — online euphemism for "kill"
- Spanish: difuntear — online euphemism for "kill"
- Japanese: 4ぬ (shinu) — online euphemism for "die"
- Japanese: タヒ (tahi) — online euphemism for "die"
- Lombard: desviv — online euphemism for "die"
- Lombard: disviv — online euphemism for "die"
- Polish: zejść — online euphemism for "die"
- Portuguese: desviver — online euphemism for "die"
- Spanish: desvivirse — online euphemism for "die"
- Spanish: ultimarse — online euphemism for "die"
- Thai: ตุย (dtui) — online euphemism for "die"