Alive and Dead

Alive

Alive adjective - Having or showing life.
Usage example: after crashing into the plate glass window the little bird was not only still alive, it seemed merely dazed

Dead is an antonym for alive in topics: living, being active, being animately existent.

Dead

Dead adjective - No longer living.
Usage example: I inherited this heirloom from my dead great-grandfather

Alive is an antonym for dead in topics: not working, spiritless, deceased, complete, indifferent.

Nearby Word: deadly

Both words in one sentence

  • Useful Notes / Schrödinger's Cat The thing is, after an hour, until the box is open, there is no way to determine whether the cat inside is alive or dead, thus allowing the cat to be both alive and dead.
  • Cut His Heart Out with a Spoon Stephen Colbert suggested that he should be wanted, not dead or alive, but dead and alive, via being cloned repeatedly so they could kill the clones.
  • One Bugs Bunny cartoon depicted Bugs as being a wanted fugitive, wanted dead or alive... with the wanted poster explicitly saying "preferably dead."
Cite this Source
Dead and Alive. (2016). Retrieved 2026, July 21, from https://thesaurus.plus/related/alive/dead
Alive & Dead. N.p., 2016. Web. 21 Jul. 2026. <https://thesaurus.plus/related/alive/dead>.
Dead or Alive. 2016. Accessed July 21, 2026. https://thesaurus.plus/related/alive/dead.
Google Ngram Viewer shows how "alive" and "dead" have occurred on timeline