English Reference
Idiom idiom

living death


A condition of suffering, solitude, or impairment so extreme as to deprive one's existence of all happiness and meaning.

Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.


SIMPLE

For the prisoner, his lonely life felt like a living death.

CONTEXTUAL

After the accident left him unable to move or speak, he described his existence as a living death.

COMPLEX

Trapped in a cycle of endless, repetitive labor with no hope for change, the worker found his daily routine to be a living death.


Related idioms8entries
  1. 01

    article of death

    The moment of death.

  2. 02

    catch one's death

    To contract a serious illness, especially a nasty cold or other respiratory ailment and especially as a result of exposure to wet or chilly weather.

  3. 03

    death and taxes

    Something which is totally certain.

  4. 04

    death by a thousand paper cuts

    An ultimate negative outcome, such as the failure of a project, brought about by an excessive number of bureaucratic hurdles.

  5. 05

    death by PowerPoint

    The boredom or disengagement that an audience experiences from poorly designed or overly verbose presentations using any type of presentation software.

  6. 06

    die a thousand deaths

    To suffer repeatedly (often mentally rather than physically); to suffer extreme embarrassment or anxiety.

  7. 07

    don't call me sir, I work for a living

    Used by senior enlisted military personnel to indicate that they are not commissioned officers.

  8. 08

    kiss of death

    Something that may seem good and favorable but that actually brings ruin to hopes, plans, etc.

Last updated August 10, 2026