brain-dead

See also: braindead and brain dead

English

Alternative forms

• brain dead, braindead

Etymology

From brain +‎ dead.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈbɹeɪnˌdɛd/

Adjective

brain-dead (comparative more brain-dead, superlative most brain-dead)

1. (medicine, not comparable) Having an irreversible loss of brain function and cessation of brain activity.
   • 2010 February 22, Michael S. Schmidt, Karen Zraick, “Hit and Run in Brooklyn Leaves One Brain-Dead”, in The New York Times‎^[1], →ISSN:

     An employee of the mayor's office was declared brain-dead on Sunday morning after she and another woman were struck by a hit-and-run driver while crossing Flatbush Avenue in Brooklyn, the authorities said.

2. (colloquial) Having no useful thoughts; stupid; ditzy.
   • 2003 May 13, Mark Baard, quoting Marvin Minsky, “AI Founder Blasts Modern Research”, in Wired‎^[2], →ISSN:

     "AI has been brain-dead since the 1970s," said AI guru Marvin Minsky in a recent speech at Boston University. Minsky co-founded the MIT Artificial Intelligence Laboratory in 1959 with John McCarthy.

Usage notes

• Brain-dead is occasionally used to describe a person in a coma. This may cause confusion because in formal medical use brain-dead means dead rather than comatose.

Related terms

• brain death

Translations

in medicine: having irreversible cessation of brain activity

• Danish: hjernedød
• Dutch: hersendood (nl)
• Finnish: aivokuollut (fi)
• French: en état de mort cérébrale
• German: hirntot (de)
• Hungarian: agyhalott
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: hjernedød

  Nynorsk: hjernedød, hjernedaud

• Polish: w stanie śmierci mózgu
• Portuguese: com morte cerebral, cerebralmente morto
• Swedish: hjärndöd (sv)

colloquially: having no useful thoughts

• Danish: hjernedød, åndssvag
• Finnish: aivoton (fi), järjetön (fi), älyvapaa (fi)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: hjernedød

  Nynorsk: hjernedød, hjernedaud

• Portuguese: descerebrado
• Swedish: hjärndöd (sv)

See also

• comatose
• vegetative
• dain-bread (spoonerism)