zombie-like, adj. & adv.

zombie-like
http://www.oed.com/dictionary/zombie-like_adj%3Ftab%3Dmeaning_and_use
Revised 2021

# zombie-likeadjective & adverb

## Factsheet

### What does the word zombie-like mean?

There are two meanings listed in OED's entry for the word zombie-like. See ‘Meaning & use’ for definitions, usage, and quotation evidence.

### How common is the word zombie-like?

About 0.1occurrences per million words in modern written English

2017 | 0.13
2018 | 0.11
2019 | 0.11
2020 | 0.1
2021 | 0.096
2022 | 0.092
2023 | 0.098
2024 | 0.11

### How is the word zombie-like pronounced?

#### British English

/ˈzɒmbilʌɪk/
ZOM-bee-lighk

#### U.S. English

/ˈzɑmbiˌlaɪk/
ZAHM-bee-lighk

### Where does the word zombie-like come from?

Earliest known use

1930s

The earliest known use of the word zombie-like is in the 1930s.

OED's earliest evidence for zombie-like is from 1932, in Brisbane Courier.

zombie-like is formed within English, by derivation.

Etymons: zombie n., ‑like suffix.

### Nearby entries

1. Zolaist, n. 1886–
2. Zolaize, v. 1886–
3. Zollinger–Ellison syndrome, n. 1956–
4. Zöllner, n. 1890–
5. zollverein, n. 1843–
6. zolotnik, n. 1783–
7. zombie, n. 1788–
8. zombie apocalypse, n. 1982–
9. zombied, adj. 1972–
10. zombie-esque, adj. 1946–
11. zombie-like, adj. & adv.1932–
12. zombie worm, n. 2005–
13. zombification, n. 1968–
14. zombified, adj. 1965–
15. zombify, v. 1950–
16. zombocalypse, n. 2007–
17. zomboid, adj. 1963–
18. zom-com, n. 2004–
19. zomotherapeutic, adj. 1900–
20. zomotherapy, n. 1900–
21. zona, n. 1706–

## Etymology

### Summary

Formed within English, by derivation.
< zombie n. + ‑like suffix.

## Meaning & use

1. adjective
   1. 1932–
      Characteristic of or resembling (that of) a zombie; lifeless, unfeeling.
      1. 1932

         > He drew a picture of Mr. Barnes..and referred to his Zombie-like administration when Treasurer.

         Brisbane Courier 29 October 12/8
      2. 1975

         > White Brian is a zombie-like boy who wanders unseeing and unseen through life.

         Publishers Weekly 10 February 57/3
      3. 2005

         > Sleeping sickness, or human African trypanosomiasis, reduces victims to a zombie-like state.

         Metro (Toronto) 15 July 12/5
      1. unfeeling Old English–
         Having no feeling or sensation, insensible; figurative not sensitive to impressions, etc.
      2. dead?c1225–
         Of a part of the body: deprived of sensation or the ability to move; numb. Also figurative.
      3. unwitless c1225
         Senseless, insentient.
      4. insensible c1400–
         Naturally incapable of physical feeling; not having the faculty of sensation. Now rare.
      5. unfeelable c1400–1568
         Unable to feel; insensible. Obsolete.
      6. unfredeable c1450
         Insensible; without feeling.
      7. insensate?1520–
         Destitute of physical sense or feeling; without sensation, ‘senseless’, inanimate.
      8. blate a1522–1603
         Void of feeling, physically insensible, feelingless. (Perhaps, like a dead body). Obsolete.
      9. deaf?1527–
         Of a limb: numb, lacking sensation. rare (Irish English (northern) in later use).
      10. unsensible 1531–
          = insensible, adj. A.II.3a.
      11. inanimate a1555–
          Not animated or alive; destitute of life, lifeless; spec. not endowed with animal life, as in inanimate nature, that part of nature which is…
      12. senseless 1557–
          Of a body, body part, etc.: deprived of sensation or feeling; insentient.
      13. unsensate 1561
          Insensate.
      14. sleeping 1562–
          Numb: devoid of sensation.
      15. insensitive 1610–1713
          Destitute of feeling or consciousness (in general); not sentient; inanimate. Obsolete.
      16. unsensitive 1610–
          (un-, prefix¹ affix 1).
      17. torpid 1613–
          Benumbed; deprived or devoid of the power of motion or feeling; in which activity, animation, or development is suspended; dormant.
      18. inanimated 1646–1826
          = inanimate, adj. A.1.
      19. torpent 1647–
          = torpid, adj.
      20. unperceptive 1668–
          Not perceptive; (now esp.) lacking in insight or intelligence.
      21. feelless 1684–
          Without feeling, emotion, or sensitivity; numb, insensible.
      22. insentient 1764–
          Destitute of physical feeling, sensation, or consciousness; inanimate.
      23. unsentient 1768–
          (un-, prefix¹ affix 1.)
      24. sensationless 1824–
          Lacking or without sensation.
      25. apathic 1835–
          Without sensation.
      26. non-sensitive 1836–
          Not sensitive, insensitive.
      27. zombie-like 1932–
          Characteristic of or resembling (that of) a zombie; lifeless, unfeeling.
      28. zombie-esque 1946–
          Resembling or suggestive of a zombie; zombie-like.
      29. zomboid 1963–
          Resembling or suggestive of a zombie; zombie-like.
      30. zombied 1972–
          = zombified, adj. Also with out.
      View in Historical Thesaurus
      1. zombie-like 1932–
         Characteristic of or resembling (that of) a zombie; lifeless, unfeeling.
      2. zombie-esque 1946–
         Resembling or suggestive of a zombie; zombie-like.
      3. zomboid 1963–
         Resembling or suggestive of a zombie; zombie-like.
      4. zombified 1965–
         Transformed into a zombie. Chiefly in extended use (cf. zombie, n. I.3a, zombify, v.).
      5. zombied 1972–
         = zombified, adj. Also with out.
      View in Historical Thesaurus
2. adverb
   1. 1941–
      In a manner resembling (that of) a zombie.
      1. 1941

         > Zombi-like moved the life of the city under moonlight.

         Panama City (Florida) News Herald 8 June 3/5
      2. 1990

         > Already mired in gloom and confusion, he forgot a scheduled lunch in his honor, and, later, while reeling zombielike through a dinner, he lost his $25,000 prize check.

         St Petersburg (Florida) Times (Nexis) 9 September 7d
      3. 2003

         > He moves, zombielike and isolated, through the house.

         A. Greenwald, Nothing feels Good ii. vii. 92
      1. unfeelingly c1374–
         (un-, prefix¹ affix 5; cf. unfeeling, adj.)
      2. numbly 1577–
         In a numb manner; torpidly; unfeelingly.
      3. insensibly 1584–
         In an insensible manner or degree; imperceptibly; unconsciously; esp. so slightly or gradually that the action or process is not perceived; by…
      4. torpidly 1820–
         In a torpid manner.
      5. zombie-like 1941–
         In a manner resembling (that of) a zombie.
      View in Historical Thesaurus

## Pronunciation

### British English

/ˈzɒmbilʌɪk/
ZOM-bee-lighk

### U.S. English

/ˈzɑmbiˌlaɪk/
ZAHM-bee-lighk

####

##### Consonants

- ppea
- ttea
- kkey
- bbuy
- ddye
- ɡguy
- tʃchore
- dʒjay
- ffore
- θthaw
- ssore
- ʃshore
- vvee
- ðthee
- zzee
- ʒbeige
- xloch
- hhay
- llay
- ɬrhingyll
- rray
- wway
- jyore
- mmay
- nnay
- ŋsing

Some consonants can take the function of the vowel in unstressed syllables. Where necessary, a syllabic marker diacritic is used, hence /ˈpɛtl/ but /ˈpɛtl̩i/.

##### Vowels

- iːfleece
- ihappy
- ɪkit
- ɛdress
- atrap, bath
- ɑːstart, palm, bath
- ɒlot
- ɔːthought, force
- ʌstrut
- ʊfoot
- uːgoose
- əletter
- əːnurse
- ɪənear
- ɛːsquare
- ʊəcure
- eɪface
- ʌɪpride
- aʊmouth
- əʊgoat
- ɔɪvoice
- ãgratin
- ɒ̃salon
- ᵻ(/ɪ/-/ə/)
- ᵿ(/ʊ/-/ə/)

##### Other symbols

- The symbol ˈ at the beginning of a syllable indicates that that syllable is pronounced with primary stress.
- The symbol ˌ at the beginning of a syllable indicates that that syllable is pronounced with secondary stress.
- Round brackets ( ) in a transcription indicate that the symbol within the brackets is optional.

View the pronunciation model here.

####

##### Consonants

- ppea
- ttea
- kkey
- bbuy
- ddye*
- ɡguy
- tʃchore
- dʒjay
- ffore
- θthaw
- ssore
- ʃshore
- vvee
- ðthee
- zzee
- ʒbeige
- xloch
- hhay
- llay
- rray
- wway
- jyore
- mmay
- nnay
- ŋsing

* /d/ also represents a 'tapped' /t/ as in

Some consonants can take the function of the vowel in unstressed syllables. Where necessary, a syllabic marker diacritic is used, hence /ˈpɛd(ə)l/ but /ˈpɛdl̩i/.

##### Vowels

- ifleece, happy
- ɪkit
- ɛdress
- ætrap, bath
- ɑlot, palm, cloth, thought
- ɑrstart
- ɔcloth, thought
- ɔrnorth, force
- ʊfoot
- ugoose
- əstrut, comma
- ərnurse, letter
- ɪ(ə)rnear
- ɛ(ə)rsquare
- ʊ(ə)rcure
- eɪface
- aɪpride
- aʊmouth
- oʊgoat
- ɔɪvoice
- ɑ̃gratin
- æ̃salon
- ᵻ(/ɪ/-/ə/)
- ᵿ(/ʊ/-/ə/)

##### Other symbols

- The symbol ˈ at the beginning of a syllable indicates that that syllable is pronounced with primary stress.
- The symbol ˌ at the beginning of a syllable indicates that that syllable is pronounced with secondary stress.
- Round brackets ( ) in a transcription indicate that the symbol within the brackets is optional.

View the pronunciation model here.

####

Simple text respell breaks words into syllables, separated by a hyphen. The syllable which carries the primary stress is written in capital letters. This key covers both British and U.S. English Simple Text Respell.

##### Consonants

b, d, f, h, k, l, m, n, p, r, s, t, v, w and z have their standard English values

- gguy
- jjay
- yyore
- chchore
- khloch
- shshore
- ththaw
- dhthee
- zhbeige

##### Vowels

- atrap
- ahpalm
- airsquare
- arstart
- arrcarry (British only)
- awthought
- ayface
- a(ng)gratin
- edress
- eefleece
- eerdeer
- errmerry
- ikit
- ighpride
- irrmirror
- olot (British only)
- ohgoat
- oogoose
- oorcure
- orforce
- orrsorry (British only)
- owmouth
- oyvoice
- o(ng)salon
- ustrut
- uhletter
- urnurse
- urrhurry
- uufoot

## Forms

### Variant forms

See zombie n. and ‑like suffix.

## Frequency

zombie-like typically occurs about 0.1 times per million words in modern written English.

zombie-like is in frequency band 4, which contains words occurring between 0.1 and 1 times per million words in modern written English. More about OED's frequency bands

Frequency data is computed programmatically, and should be regarded as an estimate.

### Frequency of zombie-like, adj. & adv., 2017–2024

* Occurrences per million words in written English

Modern frequency series are derived from a corpus of 20 billion words, covering the period from 2017 to the present. The corpus is mainly compiled from online news sources, and covers all major varieties of World English.

Smoothing has been applied to series for lower-frequency words, using a moving-average algorithm. This reduces short-term fluctuations, which may be produced by variability in the content of the corpus.

Period | Frequency per million words
--- | ---
2017 | 0.13
2018 | 0.11
2019 | 0.11
2020 | 0.1
2021 | 0.096
2022 | 0.092
2023 | 0.098
2024 | 0.11

Originally published as part of the entry for zombie, n.

zombie-like, adj. & adv. was revised in September 2021.

zombie-like, adj. & adv. was last modified in July 2023.