Meanings
adjectivedead wrong (not comparable)
alternative dead-wrong · alternative deadwrong
- not comparableUtterly wrong.
He believed, against all experience, that the world was fundamentally understandable, and that if he could only equip himself with the right mental toolbox he could take the back off and see how it worked. He was, of course, dead wrong.
1986, Terry Pratchett, The Light Fantastic, published 2022, page 130
Origin
From dead being used as an intensifier.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Icelandic kolrangur
- kolranguremphatically wrong
Cite this entry
APA
dead wrong. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/dead%20wrong
MLA
“dead wrong.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/dead%20wrong. Accessed November 3, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “dead wrong,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/dead%20wrong.
Source: dead wrong on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.