living death

noun

: life emptied of joys and satisfactions

Examples of living death in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
These examples are automatically compiled from online sources to illustrate current usage. Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Some people think comas are easy to recover from or—conversely—a living death. Jan Claassen, Scientific American, 1 Nov. 2022 These playful gestures feel true to the bright mischief of the material — but there are balancing shadows that are missing. Orlando—as Woolf did—experiences overwhelming bouts of depression, nadirs of sorrow and solitude that Woolf envisions as voyages at sea, or even as periods of living death. Sara Holdren, Vulture, 21 Apr. 2024 The stillness of the soldiers and the presence of their weapons created an aura of medieval protection and a sense of living death. Sam Knight, The New Yorker, 17 Sep. 2022 Joan is here to argue that such treatment is a living death. Chelsea Bieker, WSJ, 13 May 2022 Her fate is a living death shut up in a cave, not far from what Winston and John already suffer. Jim Higgins, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 3 Mar. 2021

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1530, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of living death was circa 1530

Dictionary Entries Near living death

Cite this Entry

“Living death.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/living%20death. Accessed 8 Nov. 2024.

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