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?
| 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
U.S. English
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
- Zolaist, n.1886–
- Zolaize, v.1886–
- Zollinger–Ellison syndrome, n.1956–
- Zöllner, n.1890–
- zollverein, n.1843–
- zolotnik, n.1783–
- zombie, n.1788–
- zombie apocalypse, n.1982–
- zombied, adj.1972–
- zombie-esque, adj.1946–
- zombie-like, adj. & adv.1932–
- zombie worm, n.2005–
- zombification, n.1968–
- zombified, adj.1965–
- zombify, v.1950–
- zombocalypse, n.2007–
- zomboid, adj.1963–
- zom-com, n.2004–
- zomotherapeutic, adj.1900–
- zomotherapy, n.1900–
- zona, n.1706–
Etymology
Summary
Meaning & use
- adjective
- 1932–Characteristic of or resembling (that of) a zombie; lifeless, unfeeling.
- 1932
He drew a picture of Mr. Barnes..and referred to his Zombie-like administration when Treasurer.
Brisbane Courier 29 October 12/8 - 1975
White Brian is a zombie-like boy who wanders unseeing and unseen through life.
Publishers Weekly 10 February 57/3 - 2005
Sleeping sickness, or human African trypanosomiasis, reduces victims to a zombie-like state.
Metro (Toronto) 15 July 12/5
- unfeelingOld English–Having no feeling or sensation, insensible; figurative not sensitive to impressions, etc.
- dead?c1225–Of a part of the body: deprived of sensation or the ability to move; numb. Also figurative.
- unwitlessc1225Senseless, insentient.
- insensiblec1400–Naturally incapable of physical feeling; not having the faculty of sensation. Now rare.
- unfeelablec1400–1568Unable to feel; insensible. Obsolete.
- unfredeablec1450Insensible; without feeling.
- insensate?1520–Destitute of physical sense or feeling; without sensation, ‘senseless’, inanimate.
- blatea1522–1603Void of feeling, physically insensible, feelingless. (Perhaps, like a dead body). Obsolete.
- deaf?1527–Of a limb: numb, lacking sensation. rare (Irish English (northern) in later use).
- unsensible1531–= insensible, adj. A.II.3a.
- inanimatea1555–Not animated or alive; destitute of life, lifeless; spec. not endowed with animal life, as in inanimate nature, that part of nature which is…
- senseless1557–Of a body, body part, etc.: deprived of sensation or feeling; insentient.
- unsensate1561Insensate.
- sleeping1562–Numb: devoid of sensation.
- insensitive1610–1713Destitute of feeling or consciousness (in general); not sentient; inanimate. Obsolete.
- unsensitive1610–(un-, prefix¹ affix 1).
- torpid1613–Benumbed; deprived or devoid of the power of motion or feeling; in which activity, animation, or development is suspended; dormant.
- inanimated1646–1826= inanimate, adj. A.1.
- torpent1647–= torpid, adj.
- unperceptive1668–Not perceptive; (now esp.) lacking in insight or intelligence.
- feelless1684–Without feeling, emotion, or sensitivity; numb, insensible.
- insentient1764–Destitute of physical feeling, sensation, or consciousness; inanimate.
- unsentient1768–(un-, prefix¹ affix 1.)
- sensationless1824–Lacking or without sensation.
- apathic1835–Without sensation.
- non-sensitive1836–Not sensitive, insensitive.
- zombie-like1932–Characteristic of or resembling (that of) a zombie; lifeless, unfeeling.
- zombie-esque1946–Resembling or suggestive of a zombie; zombie-like.
- zomboid1963–Resembling or suggestive of a zombie; zombie-like.
- zombied1972–= zombified, adj. Also with out.
the world the supernatural supernatural being or deity malignant monster [adjectives] of or like a zombie- zombie-like1932–Characteristic of or resembling (that of) a zombie; lifeless, unfeeling.
- zombie-esque1946–Resembling or suggestive of a zombie; zombie-like.
- zomboid1963–Resembling or suggestive of a zombie; zombie-like.
- zombified1965–Transformed into a zombie. Chiefly in extended use (cf. zombie, n. I.3a, zombify, v.).
- zombied1972–= zombified, adj. Also with out.
- adverb
- 1941–In a manner resembling (that of) a zombie.
- 1941
Zombi-like moved the life of the city under moonlight.
Panama City (Florida) News Herald 8 June 3/5 - 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 - 2003
He moves, zombielike and isolated, through the house.
A. Greenwald, Nothing feels Good ii. vii. 92
- unfeelinglyc1374–(un-, prefix¹ affix 5; cf. unfeeling, adj.)
- numbly1577–In a numb manner; torpidly; unfeelingly.
- insensibly1584–In an insensible manner or degree; imperceptibly; unconsciously; esp. so slightly or gradually that the action or process is not perceived; by…
- torpidly1820–In a torpid manner.
- zombie-like1941–In a manner resembling (that of) a zombie.
Pronunciation
British English
U.S. English
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
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
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
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 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 |