stillborn
adjective
still·born
ˈstil-ˈbȯrn 
1
: dead at birth
2
: failing from the start : abortive, unsuccessful
a stillborn venture
Examples of stillborn in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Their first child, a daughter named Arabella, was stillborn in 1956, while their last child, son Patrick, died 39 hours after his birth in 1963.
—
Katie Mannion, PEOPLE, 7 Dec. 2025
Wren delivered her stillborn son on May 24, 2020.
—Madeline Heim, jsonline.com, 21 Nov. 2025
Qing Yuan made his way to the shower, thinking again of the woman who had died of dystocia, her boy stillborn, dead.
—Literary Hub, 23 Oct. 2025
Director Agnieszka Holland and screenwriter Christopher Hampton fashioned an intentionally distancing but stillborn love story between two miserable, self-destructive personalities who can’t live with each other but also can’t live apart.
—Tim Grierson, Vulture, 26 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for stillborn
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.
Katie Mannion, PEOPLE, 7 Dec. 2025
Wren delivered her stillborn son on May 24, 2020.
—Madeline Heim, jsonline.com, 21 Nov. 2025
Qing Yuan made his way to the shower, thinking again of the woman who had died of dystocia, her boy stillborn, dead.
—Literary Hub, 23 Oct. 2025
Director Agnieszka Holland and screenwriter Christopher Hampton fashioned an intentionally distancing but stillborn love story between two miserable, self-destructive personalities who can’t live with each other but also can’t live apart.
—Tim Grierson, Vulture, 26 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for stillborn
Cite this Entry
“Stillborn.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/stillborn. Accessed 12 Dec. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
stillborn
adjective
still·born
-ˈbȯ(ə)rn
: dead at birth
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share