presumed dead
idiom
: believed to be dead
After the earthquake several people were missing and presumed dead.
Examples of presumed dead in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Her body has never been found and she is presumed dead.
—
Lillian Metzmeier, Louisville Courier Journal, 29 Sep. 2025
He was presumed dead after his ship, the USS Hull, sank amid a typhoon in the Philippine Sea in December 1944, eight months before the end of the war.
—Robert Salonga, Mercury News, 23 Sep. 2025
He has not been seen in several years and is presumed dead, but his legacy lives on.
—Lilit Marcus, CNN Money, 23 Sep. 2025
From there, the story is too exciting to reveal, except to say that someone presumed dead makes a menacing appearance.
—Mary Ann Grossmann, Twin Cities, 14 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for presumed dead
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Lillian Metzmeier, Louisville Courier Journal, 29 Sep. 2025
He was presumed dead after his ship, the USS Hull, sank amid a typhoon in the Philippine Sea in December 1944, eight months before the end of the war.
—Robert Salonga, Mercury News, 23 Sep. 2025
He has not been seen in several years and is presumed dead, but his legacy lives on.
—Lilit Marcus, CNN Money, 23 Sep. 2025
From there, the story is too exciting to reveal, except to say that someone presumed dead makes a menacing appearance.
—Mary Ann Grossmann, Twin Cities, 14 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for presumed dead
Cite this Entry
“Presumed dead.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/presumed%20dead. Accessed 10 Oct. 2025.
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