brain-dead
adjective
1
: characterized by brain death
2
: lacking intelligence or vitality
brain-dead fools
Synonyms
- airheaded
- birdbrained
- bonehead
- boneheaded
- brainless
- bubbleheaded
- chuckleheaded
- dense
- dim
- dim-witted
- doltish
- dopey
- dopy
- dorky [slang]
- dull
- dumb
- dunderheaded
- empty-headed
- fatuous
- gormless [chiefly British]
- half-witted
- knuckleheaded
- lamebrain
- lamebrained
- lunkheaded
- mindless
- oafish
- obtuse
- opaque
- pinheaded
- senseless
- simple
- slow
- slow-witted
- soft
- softheaded
- stupid
- thick
- thick-witted
- thickheaded
- unintelligent
- unsmart
- vacuous
- weak-minded
- witless
Examples of brain-dead in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Daniel was brain-dead and transported to a hospital, where his family ultimately decided to take him off life support.
—
Audrey Conklin, Fox News, 15 Nov. 2023
Elijah McClain's family to receive $15 million from the city of Aurora in son's death
McClain was declared brain-dead days later and died on Aug. 30, 2019.
—Kiara Alfonseca, ABC News, 6 Nov. 2023
Iran says teenage girl ‘brain-dead’ weeks after alleged morality police encounter
Armita Geravandvia X
A teenage girl who fell into a coma after an incident on Iranian public transport is brain-dead, state media in Iran reported.
—Elizabeth Both, NBC News, 23 Oct. 2023
McClain was declared brain-dead days later and died on Aug. 30, 2019.
—Kiara Alfonseca, ABC News, 18 Oct. 2023
These are usually victims of accidents or brain injuries who have been declared brain-dead but whose other organs will keep working as long as the body is kept on life support.
—Tanya Lewis, Scientific American, 17 Oct. 2023
Two other brain-dead human patients received pig kidneys that remained functional during a 54-hour experiment.
—Will Sullivan, Smithsonian Magazine, 13 Oct. 2023
These studies lasted days or weeks because of ethical concerns over how long experiments can be run on brain-dead people.
—Emily Mullin, WIRED, 11 Oct. 2023
Three days later, he was declared brain-dead and taken off life support.
—Aya Elamroussi, CNN, 23 Sep. 2023
See More
Audrey Conklin, Fox News, 15 Nov. 2023
Elijah McClain's family to receive $15 million from the city of Aurora in son's death
McClain was declared brain-dead days later and died on Aug. 30, 2019.
—Kiara Alfonseca, ABC News, 6 Nov. 2023
Iran says teenage girl ‘brain-dead’ weeks after alleged morality police encounter
Armita Geravandvia X
A teenage girl who fell into a coma after an incident on Iranian public transport is brain-dead, state media in Iran reported.
—Elizabeth Both, NBC News, 23 Oct. 2023
McClain was declared brain-dead days later and died on Aug. 30, 2019.
—Kiara Alfonseca, ABC News, 18 Oct. 2023
These are usually victims of accidents or brain injuries who have been declared brain-dead but whose other organs will keep working as long as the body is kept on life support.
—Tanya Lewis, Scientific American, 17 Oct. 2023
Two other brain-dead human patients received pig kidneys that remained functional during a 54-hour experiment.
—Will Sullivan, Smithsonian Magazine, 13 Oct. 2023
These studies lasted days or weeks because of ethical concerns over how long experiments can be run on brain-dead people.
—Emily Mullin, WIRED, 11 Oct. 2023
Three days later, he was declared brain-dead and taken off life support.
—Aya Elamroussi, CNN, 23 Sep. 2023
See More
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'brain-dead.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
First Known Use
1972, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Dictionary Entries Near brain-dead
Cite this Entry
“Brain-dead.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/brain-dead. Accessed 10 Dec. 2023.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share