List of 426 Sets of Synonyms - How they Differ - Total of 2307 Words - 100

SYNONYMS: dead, deceased, departed, extinct, lifeless, inanimate.
These adjectives all mean without life.

Dead, which has the widest use, applies in general to whatever once had---but no longer has---physical life (a dead man; a dead leaf), function (The battery is dead), or force or currency (a dead issue; a dead language).
Deceased like departed, which is a euphemistic term---refers only to nonliving human beings: attended a memorial service for a recently deceased friend; He cried for his departed wife.
Extinct can refer to what has no living successors (The dodo is extinct or to what is extinguished or inactive (an extinct volcano).
Lifeless applies to what no longer has physical life (a lifeless body), to what does not support life (a lifeless planet), and to what lacks animation, spirit, or brightness (a lifeless performance of a play; lifeless colors).
Inanimate is most often limited to what has never had physical life: He then fell, like a inanimate log, to the earth.