1
: characterized by brain death
2
: lacking intelligence or vitality
brain-dead fools

Examples of brain-dead in a Sentence

it seems like she's always doing some brain-dead thing or another
Recent Examples on the Web
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.
Her doctor, Jayme Locke, then an abdominal transplant surgeon at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, had previously led short-term pig kidney transplants in brain-dead recipients and suggested the experimental procedure as a last resort. Emily Mullin, WIRED, 17 Dec. 2024 Nadella doesn’t say outright what everyone in the room knows: Just a decade ago, pundits had declared the company brain-dead. Steven Levy, WIRED, 21 Nov. 2024 All the ingredients for a romp are there, from the blinkered heroine to the delicious possibilities of brain-dead Hollywood pitchspeak. Madeline Leung Coleman, Vulture, 27 Aug. 2024 Another 15 to 19 are based in hospitals, but devoted to only brain-dead organ donors. Isabella Cueto, STAT, 25 June 2024 See all Example Sentences for brain-dead 

Word History

First Known Use

1972, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of brain-dead was in 1972

Dictionary Entries Near brain-dead

Cite this Entry

“Brain-dead.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/brain-dead. Accessed 30 Dec. 2024.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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