Meanings
alternative half dead · alternative half-dead
- not comparableHalfway dead; only partially alive.
But even after he was beyond the danger zone, he still felt halfdead.
1999, Patti Massman, Susan Rosser, A Matter of Betrayal3 more examples
Until the day King Nax had seized him and shattered his legs—not broken them, but shattered them, eight men taking turns with a mallet—and then sent him home, halfdead, to his wife, Aliss, in the northern Dells.
2009, Kristin Cashore, FireSome may be halfdead physically; they need people to visit them in the hospital or in their homes. But there are many more who are halfdead in other ways.
2010, Wayne Gordon, Who Is My Neighbor?[...] from a vantage point of security, the lawyer is taught to ask the question from the vantage point of one lying halfdead by the side of the road.
2010, Robert A Gagnon, The Bible and Homosexual Practice
Synonyms & antonyms
Origin
- Proto-Germanic*halbadaudaz“halfdead”
- Old Englishhealfdēad“half-dead”
- Middle Englishhalfdede
- Englishhalfdead
From Middle English halfdede, from Old English healfdēad (“half-dead”), from Proto-Germanic *halbadaudaz (“halfdead”), equivalent to half- + dead. Cognate with West Frisian healdea (“halfdead”), Dutch halfdood (“halfdead”), German Low German halvdood (“halfdead”), German halbtot (“halfdead”), Swedish halvdöd (“halfdead”).
More words from Middle English, Old English, Proto-Germanic
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Bengali অর্ধমৃত, আধমরা
- অর্ধমৃত (ordhomrito)halfway dead; partially alive
- আধমরা (adhmora)halfway dead; partially alive
Chinese Mandarin 半死不活, 半死半活
- 半死不活 (bànsǐbùhuó)halfway dead; partially alive
- 半死半活 (bànsǐ bànhuó)halfway dead; partially alive
Czech polomrtvý
- polomrtvýhalfway dead; partially alive
Danish halvdød
- halvdødhalfway dead; partially alive
Dutch halfdood
- halfdoodhalfway dead; partially alive
French demi-mort
- demi-morthalfway dead; partially alive
Hungarian félholt
- félholthalfway dead; partially alive
Icelandic hálfdauður
- hálfdauðurhalfway dead; partially alive
Irish bogmharbh, leathmharbh
- bogmharbhhalfway dead; partially alive
- leathmharbhhalfway dead; partially alive
- díbheohalfway dead; partially alive
Polish półumarły
- półumarłyhalfway dead; partially alive
Russian полумёртвый
- полумёртвый (polumjórtvyj)halfway dead; partially alive
Swedish halvdöd
- halvdödhalfway dead; partially alive
Ukrainian напівме́ртвий, півме́ртвий
- напівме́ртвий (napivmértvyj)halfway dead; partially alive
- півме́ртвий (pivmértvyj)halfway dead; partially alive
Cite this entry
halfdead. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/halfdead
“halfdead.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/halfdead. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “halfdead,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/halfdead.
Source: halfdead on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.