zombification, n.

zombification
http://www.oed.com/dictionary/zombification_n%3Ftab%3Dmeaning_and_use
First published 2005

# zombificationnoun

## Factsheet

### What does the noun zombification mean?

There is one meaning in OED's entry for the noun zombification. See ‘Meaning & use’ for definition, usage, and quotation evidence.

### How common is the noun zombification?

Fewer than 0.01occurrences per million words in modern written English

2017 | 0.012
2018 | 0.014
2019 | 0.014
2020 | 0.012
2021 | 0.012
2022 | 0.012
2023 | 0.0098
2024 | 0.0088

### How is the noun zombification pronounced?

#### British English

/ˌzɒmbᵻfᵻˈkeɪʃn/
zom-buh-fuh-KAY-shuhn

#### U.S. English

/ˌzɑmbəfəˈkeɪʃən/
zahm-buh-fuh-KAY-shuhn

### Where does the noun zombification come from?

Earliest known use

1960s

The earliest known use of the noun zombification is in the 1960s.

OED's earliest evidence for zombification is from 1968, in Time.

zombification is formed within English, by derivation.

Etymons: zombify v., ‑fication suffix.

### Nearby entries

1. Zollinger–Ellison syndrome, n. 1956–
2. Zöllner, n. 1890–
3. zollverein, n. 1843–
4. zolotnik, n. 1783–
5. zombie, n. 1788–
6. zombie apocalypse, n. 1982–
7. zombied, adj. 1972–
8. zombie-esque, adj. 1946–
9. zombie-like, adj. & adv. 1932–
10. zombie worm, n. 2005–
11. zombification, n.1968–
12. zombified, adj. 1965–
13. zombify, v. 1950–
14. zombocalypse, n. 2007–
15. zomboid, adj. 1963–
16. zom-com, n. 2004–
17. zomotherapeutic, adj. 1900–
18. zomotherapy, n. 1900–
19. zona, n. 1706–
20. zona ignea, n. 1818–
21. zonal, adj. 1867–

## Etymology

### Summary

Formed within English, by derivation.
Etymons: zombify v., ‑fication suffix.
< zombify v.: see ‑fication suffix. Compare slightly earlier zombified adj.

## Meaning & use

1. 1968–
   The process of becoming a zombie. Chiefly in extended use (cf. zombie n. I.3a, zombify v.).
   1. 1968

      > The progress of the play is really the gradual zombification of Morley as physical debility betokens his psychic decay.

      Time 29 March 91/2
   2. 1991

      > A recent investigation tried to explain zombification by modern pharmacology.

      Journal of American Folklore vol. 104 467
   3. 1999

      > Half-a-dozen misfits and outsiders, who..manage to assert their individuality sufficiently to evade the zombification of their entire peer group.

      Interzone June 36/2
   1. benumbing 1552–
      A rendering torpid or inactive, benumbment.
   2. numbing 1566–
      The process of making or becoming numb.
   3. stounding 1637–
      Benumbing.
   4. benumbment 1817–
      The action of benumbing; the fact or condition of being benumbed; torpor.
   5. toponarcosis 1860–
      Local narcosis.
   6. insensibilization 1897–
      The action of rendering or condition of being rendered insensible.
   7. zombification 1968–
      The process of becoming a zombie. Chiefly in extended use (cf. zombie, n. I.3a, zombify, v.).
   View in Historical Thesaurus
   1. deading 1607
      The action of dead, v. (in various senses); dying, death; deadening. Also: an instance of this.
   2. stupefying 1614–
      The action or process of stupefy, v. (in various senses); stupefaction; an instance of this.
   3. zombification 1968–
      The process of becoming a zombie. Chiefly in extended use (cf. zombie, n. I.3a, zombify, v.).
   View in Historical Thesaurus

## Pronunciation

### British English

/ˌzɒmbᵻfᵻˈkeɪʃn/
zom-buh-fuh-KAY-shuhn

### U.S. English

/ˌzɑmbəfəˈkeɪʃən/
zahm-buh-fuh-KAY-shuhn

####

##### 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

1. 1900s–
   zombiefication, zombification

## Frequency

zombification typically occurs fewer than 0.01 times per million words in modern written English.

zombification is in frequency band 2, which contains words occurring between 0.001 and 0.01 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 zombification, n., 1960–2010

* Occurrences per million words in written English

Historical frequency series are derived from Google Books Ngrams (version 2), a data set based on the Google Books corpus of several million books printed in English between 1500 and 2010.

The overall frequency for a given word is calculated by summing frequencies for the main form of the word, any plural or inflected forms, and any major spelling variations.

For sets of homographs (distinct entries that share the same word-form, e.g. mole, n.¹, mole, n.², mole, n.³, etc.), we have estimated the frequency of each homograph entry as a fraction of the total Ngrams frequency for the word-form. This may result in inaccuracies.

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 Google Books corpus.

Decade | Frequency per million words
--- | ---
1960 | 0.0045
1970 | 0.006
1980 | 0.007
1990 | 0.007
2000 | 0.0084
2010 | 0.01

### Frequency of zombification, n., 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 | 0.012
2018 | 0.014
2019 | 0.014
2020 | 0.012
2021 | 0.012
2022 | 0.012
2023 | 0.0098
2024 | 0.0088

zombification, n. was first published in June 2005.

zombification, n. was last modified in July 2023.