as in dumb
not having or showing an ability to absorb ideas readily it seems like she's always doing some brain-dead thing or another

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of brain-dead A week later, he was taken to surgery to have his organs removed for donation — even though his heart was beating and he hadn’t been declared brain-dead, Zohny said. Kff Health News, Oc Register, 12 Sep. 2025 A week later, he was taken to surgery to have his organs removed for donation — even though his heart was beating and he hadn’t been declared brain-dead, Zohny said. Cara Anthony, CNN Money, 11 Sep. 2025 Although the man was brain-dead after experiencing a cerebral hemorrhage, the lung survived for nine days. Angelica Stabile, FOXNews.com, 26 Aug. 2025 Weapons is not brain-dead entertainment; the film is impeccably crafted and filled with fantastically game actors. Louis Peitzman, Vulture, 8 Aug. 2025 See All Example Sentences for brain-dead
Recent Examples of Synonyms for brain-dead
Adjective
  • As Legally Blonde's Elle Woods, Witherspoon charted a memorable path from dumb blonde to Harvard Law School graduate.
    Ryan Coleman, Entertainment Weekly, 6 Nov. 2025
  • Celebrities fight it out to be eliminated from the competition as quickly as possible to avoid being crowned the nation’s dumbest.
    Peter White, Deadline, 4 Nov. 2025
Adjective
  • What gave me the crazy idea to stand at the bar, listening to that woman being praised for her stupid f---ing commitment to New York City and her ugly f---ing buildings?
    Charlotte Phillipp, PEOPLE, 7 Nov. 2025
  • Her mechanism for luring victims involves a stick, someone’s hair, her blood, and another person stupid enough to let her through their front door.
    Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 6 Nov. 2025
Adjective
  • Hoover finished 319 yards on 34-of-50 passing, but his two turnovers were critical mistakes that led to TCU’s slow start in the first half.
    Steven Johnson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 9 Nov. 2025
  • When visiting the exhibit, plan on taking your time to make the most of it, or what the American Federation of Arts calls slow looking.
    Susan B. Barnes, Southern Living, 9 Nov. 2025
Adjective
  • According to Bruce Blair, a former Air Force launch officer and nuclear policy expert, between 1962 and the mid-1970s the most powerful digits on the globe were simple – eight zeros.
    Charlotte Reck, CNN Money, 9 Nov. 2025
  • That something as simple as a COVID vaccine might improve survival in cancer patients receiving standard immunotherapy has taken oncologists by surprise — in a good way.
    Lisa Jarvis, Twin Cities, 8 Nov. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Brain-dead.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/brain-dead. Accessed 14 Nov. 2025.

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