unalive

[ uhn-uh-lahyv ]

verb (used with object)

, Slang.

1. to kill (oneself or another person): The point of the game is to unalive all enemies before losing your last life token.

   Is it a cry for help when people on social media talk about unaliving themselves?

   The point of the game is to unalive all enemies before losing your last life token.

adjective

1. Slang. dead ( def 1 ):

   Our unalive goldfish was floating at the top of the fishbowl.

   That joke killed me—I am unalive!

2. (of an inanimate object) lifeless and lacking even the facsimile of life:

   the unalive occupants of the wax museum.

3. (of a living being) unaware of someone or something, or generally isolated, numb, or unresponsive:

   We were unalive to the possibilities of fusion cuisine before our travels.

   She was unalive in the face of her own children’s suffering.

Word History and Origins

Origin of unalive¹

First recorded in 1820–30 unalive fordefs 2, 3, 4, and in 2015–20 unalive fordef 1; un- ²( def ) + alive ( def ); the recent senses “to kill; die by suicide” are euphemisms to avoid censorship on the internet

Example Sentences

The intent was for them to appear unalive while still getting across a sense of the person they used to be.

From Los Angeles Times

The necrophile, however, is driven by a love for all that is dead, destroyed or decaying—or, the author believes, in a modern departure—for what is unalive and purely mechanistic….

From Salon

Now she’s a middle school teacher in New Jersey, and when her students’ phones and TikTok access are taken away, their out-loud whining has a 21st-century digital twist: “I feel so unalive.”

From Washington Times

“Whoever says ‘unalive’ intends to communicate something about suicide, and knows that, and assumes that whoever is on the other end will be able to retrieve that intention,” Beltrama says.

From Washington Times

Beltrama draws a parallel between “unalive” and how a saying like “Let’s go Brandon” has become a way to express disdain for President Biden without using the profane phrase that it’s code for.

From Washington Times

Related Words

• do away with
• kill
• murder