brain-dead

adjective

ˈbrān-ˌded 

1

: characterized by brain death

2

: lacking intelligence or vitality

brain-dead fools

Synonyms

• airheaded
• birdbrained
• bonehead
• boneheaded
• brainless
• bubbleheaded
• chuckleheaded
• dense
• dim
• dim-witted
• doltish
• dopey
• dopy
• dorky [slang]
• dull
• dumb
• dunderheaded
• empty-headed
• fatuous
• gormless [chiefly British]
• half-witted
• knuckleheaded
• lamebrain
• lamebrained
• lunkheaded
• mindless
• oafish
• obtuse
• opaque
• pinheaded
• senseless
• simple
• slow
• slow-witted
• soft
• softheaded
• stupid
• thick
• thick-witted
• thickheaded
• unintelligent
• unsmart
• vacuous
• weak-minded
• witless

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

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

There are circumstances in which a patient who isn’t brain-dead may still become an organ donor. —Jen Christensen, CNN, 28 Oct. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1972, in the meaning defined at sense 1