raise the dead

verb

To resurrect a dead person, or dead people in general; to reanimate the corpse of someone, rendering them undead.

“Near-synonyms: raise hell, raise Cain”

Similar
necromancewake the deadraise hellraise Cain
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Meanings

verbraise the dead (third-person singular simple present raises the dead, present participle raising the dead, simple past and past participle raised the dead)

present singular third person raises the dead · participle present raising the dead · participle past raised the dead · past raised the dead

  1. literallyTo resurrect a dead person, or dead people in general; to reanimate the corpse of someone, rendering them undead.

    Synonyms: necromance

  2. derogatoryfigurativelyslangTo raise one's voice to a very high level; to be noisy or disruptive.

    Near-synonyms: raise hell, raise Cain

    Synonyms: wake the dead, raise hell, raise Cain

Synonyms & antonyms

verbTo resurrect a dead person, or dead people in general; to reanimate the corpse of someone, rendering them undead.

Similar
necromance

verbTo raise one's voice to a very high level; to be noisy or disruptive.

Similar
wake the deadraise hellraise Cain
Also see
necromanceraise hellwake the dead
Cite this entry
APA

raise the dead. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/raise%20the%20dead

MLA

“raise the dead.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/raise%20the%20dead. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “raise the dead,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/raise%20the%20dead.

Source: raise the dead on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.