Meanings
alternative still-born
- not comparableDead at birth.
1978, Holy Bible (New International Version), Job 3:16, Or why was I not hidden in the ground like a stillborn child, like an infant who never saw the light of day?
1 more example
Queen Anne, before Elizabeth, bore a still-born son.
1768, Horace Walpole, Historic Doubts on the Life and Reign of King Richard III - broadlyfigurativelynot comparableIgnored, without influence, or unsuccessful from the outset; abortive.
His lips framed themselves to whistle the first bars of a popular song, but the sound died stillborn.
1915, William MacLeod Raine, chapter 18, in The Highgrader1 more example
This, gentlemen, is a list of the joint-stock companies created last year. . . . Of these some were stillborn, but the majority hold the market.
1859, Charles Reade, chapter 11, in Love Me Little, Love Me LongSynonyms: unfruitful
plural stillborns · alternative still-born
- A baby that is born dead.
About 35% of stillborns are discovered to have major structural anomalies by chromosomal studies and autopsy findings.
2016, Alok Sharma, A Practical Guide to Third Trimester of Pregnancy & Puerperium
Synonyms & antonyms
adjectiveIgnored, without influence, or unsuccessful from the outset; abortive.
More synonyms by meaning
adjectivefailing to accomplish an intended result
adjective(of newborn infant) showing no signs of life at birth; not liveborn
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
From English still + born. First attested in 1597.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Arabic إِمْلَاص
- إِمْلَاص (ʔimlāṣ)dead at birth
Bulgarian мъртвороден
- мъртвороден (mărtvoroden)dead at birth
Catalan nascut mort
- nascut mortdead at birth
Chinese Mandarin 死胎的, 死產的 /死产的
- 死胎的 (sǐtāi de)dead at birth
- 死產的 /死产的 (sǐchǎn de)dead at birth
Czech mrtvorozený
- mrtvorozenýdead at birth
Dutch doodgeboren, doodgeboren
- doodgeborendead at birth
- doodgeborenignored, without influence, unsuccessful, abortive
Esperanto mortnaskita
- mortnaskitadead at birth
Finnish kuolleena syntynyt, epäonnistunut
- kuolleena syntynytdead at birth
- epäonnistunutignored, without influence, unsuccessful, abortive
French mort-né
- mort-nédead at birth
German totgeboren, Totgeburt
- totgeborendead at birth
- Totgeburtstillborn
Greek θνησιγενής, νεκρογέννητος
- θνησιγενής (thnisigenís)dead at birth
- νεκρογέννητος (nekrogénnitos)dead at birth
- θνησιγενής (thnisigenís)ignored, without influence, unsuccessful, abortive
Hungarian halva született, halva született
- halva születettdead at birth
- halva születettignored, without influence, unsuccessful, abortive
Icelandic andvanafæddur
- andvanafæddurdead at birth
Indonesian bayi lahir mati
- bayi lahir matistillborn
Italian nato morto, nata morta
- nato mortodead at birth
- nata mortadead at birth
Japanese 死産の
- 死産の (shizan no)dead at birth
Norwegian dødfødt
- dødfødtignored, without influence, unsuccessful, abortive
Norwegian Bokmål dødfødt
- dødfødtdead at birth
Polish martwy przy porodzie, poroniony
- martwy przy porodziedead at birth
- poronionydead at birth
- poronionyignored, without influence, unsuccessful, abortive
Portuguese natimorto, nado-morto
- natimortodead at birth
- nado-mortodead at birth
- natimortostillborn
- natimortastillborn
- nado-mortostillborn
Russian мертворождённый, мертворождённый
- мертворождённый (mertvoroždjónnyj)dead at birth
- мертворождённый (mertvoroždjónnyj)ignored, without influence, unsuccessful, abortive
- беспло́дный (besplódnyj)ignored, without influence, unsuccessful, abortive
Spanish nacido muerto, mortinato
- nacido muertodead at birth
- mortinatodead at birth
- natimortodead at birth
- mortinatostillborn
Swedish dödfödd, dödfödd
- dödfödddead at birth
- dödföddignored, without influence, unsuccessful, abortive
Tagalog lungal
- lungaldead at birth
Ukrainian мертвонаро́джений, мертвонаро́джений
- мертвонаро́джений (mertvonaródženyj)dead at birth
- мертвонаро́джений (mertvonaródženyj)ignored, without influence, unsuccessful, abortive
Yiddish טויט געבוירן
- טויט געבוירן (toyt geboyrn)dead at birth
Cite this entry
stillborn. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/stillborn
“stillborn.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/stillborn. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “stillborn,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/stillborn.
Source: stillborn on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.