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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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
Authors from Guangzhou Medical University First Affiliated Hospital in Ching didn’t identify the patient in the study, but he’s described as a 39-year-old man who was declared brain-dead after a brain hemorrhage.
—
Jen Christensen, CNN Money, 25 Aug. 2025
Suffice to say, kids were clear which group was which (brilliant/average/brain-dead), and more to the point, by Day 2 of school, the parents were, too.
—Inga, San Diego Union-Tribune, 11 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
She was declared brain-dead and the cause of death was determined to be blunt force trauma to the head.
—Rocco Parascandola, New York Daily News, 22 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for brain-dead
Jen Christensen, CNN Money, 25 Aug. 2025
Suffice to say, kids were clear which group was which (brilliant/average/brain-dead), and more to the point, by Day 2 of school, the parents were, too.
—Inga, San Diego Union-Tribune, 11 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
She was declared brain-dead and the cause of death was determined to be blunt force trauma to the head.
—Rocco Parascandola, New York Daily News, 22 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for brain-dead
Recent Examples of Synonyms for brain-dead
Adjective
-
The reigning Super Bowl champs better hope that’s the dumbest thing that one of their players does this season.—
Parker Gabriel,
Denver Post,
6 Sep. 2025
-
Sometimes, actors play a slightly dumber iteration of themselves; think James Van Der Beek in Don’t Trust the B in Apartment 23 and Liam Neeson in Life’s Too Short (a performance that got Neeson cast in this year’s The Naked Gun).—
Fran Hoepfner,
Vulture,
5 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
The recent rash of CEOs Gone Wild is arguably even stupider than commonplace fraud, and a troubling sign that there continues to be a slippery slope of accountability for C-Suite leadership.—
Ian Chaffee,
Fortune,
5 Sep. 2025
-
The accounts team logs in right on time, and the stupid dance of platitudes that precedes every meeting at every company around the world begins.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
5 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
Biden, who ended his bid for a second White House term 107 days before last year's election, has been relatively slow to move on presidential library planning compared with most of his recent predecessors.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
7 Sep. 2025
-
With Parkinson’s, doctors implant electrodes in the brain that produce electrical impulses to disrupt the abnormal signals that cause tremors, stiffness and slow movement.—
Jen Christensen,
CNN Money,
7 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
With just a few chairs, a handful of tables and a simple tent, the setting was intimate but filled with love and intention.—
Tereza Shkurtaj,
PEOPLE,
7 Sep. 2025
-
And one of these, for those of us accustomed to British conventions but who follow the game in continental Europe, is the simple passage of time.—
Michael Cox,
New York Times,
6 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Brain-dead.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/brain-dead. Accessed 9 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share