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
One survivor from a late October operation is presumed dead after the Mexican Navy called off a search for the person.
—
Joe Walsh, CBS News, 3 Jan. 2026
No human remains or large portions of wreckage have been found, though every person on board is presumed dead.
—Peter Guo, NBC news, 30 Dec. 2025
Back in Ithaca, Odysseus is presumed dead.
—Allison Degrushe, Entertainment Weekly, 23 Dec. 2025
Though her character was presumed dead, she was revealed to have entered witness protection; Jodi was written out of the show following this development in Season 7 and returned for a guest appearance in the series finale.
—Kimi Robinson, USA Today, 15 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for presumed dead
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Joe Walsh, CBS News, 3 Jan. 2026
No human remains or large portions of wreckage have been found, though every person on board is presumed dead.
—Peter Guo, NBC news, 30 Dec. 2025
Back in Ithaca, Odysseus is presumed dead.
—Allison Degrushe, Entertainment Weekly, 23 Dec. 2025
Though her character was presumed dead, she was revealed to have entered witness protection; Jodi was written out of the show following this development in Season 7 and returned for a guest appearance in the series finale.
—Kimi Robinson, USA Today, 15 Dec. 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 Jan. 2026.
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