as in code word
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Recent Examples of dead metaphor
Many of our emotion terms are references to states of the body—we’re downcast, bent out of shape, head over heels, shaken up, down in the mouth—which have slowly rigidified into dead metaphor.
—
Nikhil Krishnan, The New Yorker, 1 Aug. 2022
This shift reminds us that dead metaphors aren’t always terminally dead.
—Rob Nixon, Smithsonian, 23 Mar. 2018
Nikhil Krishnan, The New Yorker, 1 Aug. 2022
This shift reminds us that dead metaphors aren’t always terminally dead.
—Rob Nixon, Smithsonian, 23 Mar. 2018
Recent Examples of Synonyms for dead metaphor
Noun
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Savannah Guthrie seemingly used a code word in a video directed toward her missing mother Nancy Guthrie’s kidnappers, a former FBI agent claims.—
Jason Pham,
StyleCaster,
9 Feb. 2026
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Have a safety plan and a family code word.—
Amelia Mugavero,
CBS News,
6 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Early critics have called it ‘compassionate,’ which might sound like a euphemism for treacly or didactic.—
Savannah Salazar,
Vulture,
20 Feb. 2026
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Some of the suspects try to minimize their actions with euphemisms or paraphrases; others do so with explanations that the prosecutors find utterly implausible.—
Richard Brody,
New Yorker,
19 Feb. 2026
Noun
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But the analogy fails for one simple reason.—
Erwin Chemerinsky,
Mercury News,
18 Feb. 2026
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That really was a good analogy for me.—
Outside Online,
Outside Online,
18 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Dedication sifts through the turmoil and joy of Mirah’s life with an intimacy rarely obscured by obliquity or metaphor.—
Zach Schonfeld,
Pitchfork,
20 Feb. 2026
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This is false not just as reality but even as metaphor.—
John Williams,
The Atlantic,
20 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Along with another allusion to his quip about Lucien’s death, that simile establishes the Anglo-Irish author as a terrifying counter-example of homosexual exposure.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
2 Feb. 2026
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Consider, for instance, the use of rhetorical figures such as metaphor or simile.—
Nino Letteriello,
Forbes.com,
22 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Dead metaphor.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dead%20metaphor. Accessed 25 Feb. 2026.
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