zombie means A person, usually undead, animated by unnatural forces (such as magic), with no soul or will of his or her own, typically being slow, obedient, and harmless unless directed to be harmful. It carries an Arena rating of 1508, earned across 2 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, zombie ranks #182 of 17,123 for Most Malleable Words, #3,134 of 17,115 for Most Vivid Words, #3,428 of 17,118 for Scariest Words, #4,305 of 17,125 for Most Incisive Words.
zombie is pronounced /ˈzɒmbi/.
Why “zombie” is a great word
A person or corpse reanimated, especially by supernatural means, typically depicted as lacking free will and consciousness, and often associated with a desire to consume the living. First attested in the 18th century, from Louisiana Creole zombi, Haitian Creole zonbi, and French zombi, ultimately from a Bantu language; compare Kongo nzambi ("god") or Kimbundu nzumbi ("ghost"). Unlike a ghoul, a grave-haunting demon from Arabian lore that feeds on corpses, or a revenant, a purposeful spirit returned from the dead, the zombie is pure automation—a body divorced from intention. It is the laborer moving without thought in the cane field, the relentless shuffle at the barricaded door, and the neighbor whose gaze holds only a flat, unfocused hunger—the ultimate metaphor for a life stripped of everything but the biological impulse to persist.
Etymology
First attested in the 18th century. Partially through Louisiana Creole zombi (“zombie; ghost”), Haitian Creole zonbi (“zombie”), and French zombi (“zombie”). Ultimately from a Bantu language. Compare Kongo nzambi (“god”), zumbi (“fetish”), and Kimbundu nzumbi (“ghost”) (see Portuguese zumbi, Sranan Tongo dyumbi), and Caribbean folklore's jumbie (“a spirit or demon”).
noun
- A person, usually undead, animated by unnatural forces (such as magic), with no soul or will of his or her own, typically being slow, obedient, and harmless unless directed to be harmful.e.g.“Betsy Connell: I don't know about zombies, doctor. Just what is a zombie? / Dr. Maxwell: A ghost. A living dead. It's also a drink.”
- A dead person, reanimated through some fictional agency as a fungus, virus, or the like, that has an insatiable desire to eat living humans, typically depicted as aggressive, fast moving, and infectious.e.g.“Ashley: Dad passed on a few years back. He's probably still watching, though.
Shepard: He's not a zombie, is he?”
- An apathetic or slow-witted person.
- A human being in a state of extreme mental exhaustion.e.g.“After working for 18 hours on the computer, I was a zombie.”
- Someone or something that should be dead but is not.e.g.“I would advise anyone who does not share its politics — surely the great majority of gay men and lesbians — to shun NOLAG for the anachronistic zombie it is.”
- An information worker who has signed a nondisclosure agreement.
- A process or task which has terminated but has not been removed from the list of processes, typically because it has an unresponsive parent process.
- A computer affected by malware which causes it to do whatever the attacker wants it to do without the user's knowledge.
- A cocktail of rum and fruit juices.e.g.“Betsy Connell: I don't know about zombies, doctor. Just what is a zombie? / Dr. Maxwell: A ghost. A living dead. It's also a drink.”
- A conscripted member of the Canadian military during World War II who was assigned to home defence rather than to combat in Europe.e.g.“1944, "Time for Decision," Time (US edition), 6 Nov.,
Had the time come to order Canada's home defense draftees—some 70,000 zombies idling at home—to battle overseas?”
- Marijuana, or similar drugs.e.g.“Traveling in a fried-out Kombi / On a hippie trail, head full of zombie”
- A hypothetical being that is indistinguishable from a normal human being except in that it lacks conscious experience, qualia, or sentience.
- A person whose senses and faculties are severely dulled by drug use.e.g.“I'm worried about that guy on the corner, he is a fent zombie.”
Words closest in meaning
By meaning, not spelling — each word's AI semantic fingerprint, nearest first.