# Why am I now seeing the term "unalived" all over the place instead of the much shorter "killed" or "died"? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 28, 2026, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-am-i-now-seeing-the-term-unalived-all-over-the-place-instead-of-the-much-shorter-killed-or-died/1028092 "2026-02-28T22:47:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![steronz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steronz/32/11765_2.png) [@steronz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steronz)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2026, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-am-i-now-seeing-the-term-unalived-all-over-the-place-instead-of-the-much-shorter-killed-or-died/1028092/61 "2026-03-02T18:23:53Z")
Who’s making rules about me being able to drop F-bombs in an elementary school? Fascists? Big Brother? ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2026, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-am-i-now-seeing-the-term-unalived-all-over-the-place-instead-of-the-much-shorter-killed-or-died/1028092/62 "2026-03-02T18:25:27Z")
> [@minor7flat5](#): > > Now I’m imagining a world where cockney slang starts working its way through social media. > > You know…I’m a sceptic, because “sceptic” is followed by “tank” which rhymes with “yank”! “Septic” rather than “sceptic”, but yes, that’s a common British/Australian derogatory/jesting nickname for Americans, based on rhyming slang, as you note. ---
**Author:** ![minor7flat5](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/minor7flat5/32/258_2.png) [@minor7flat5](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minor7flat5)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2026, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-am-i-now-seeing-the-term-unalived-all-over-the-place-instead-of-the-much-shorter-killed-or-died/1028092/63 "2026-03-02T19:19:49Z")
> [@Kimstu](#): > > “Septic” rather than “sceptic” I knew that looked a little funny…Septic indeed. ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2026, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-am-i-now-seeing-the-term-unalived-all-over-the-place-instead-of-the-much-shorter-killed-or-died/1028092/64 "2026-03-02T19:28:40Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > And who writes the algorithms? Do they just arise, spontaneously, from the aether? Reddit/TikTok: “We don’t want anyone talking about suicide here! Block and ban any post that mentions suicide!” Users of Reddit/TikTok: creates alternate word to take the place of “suicide” so they can still talk about it without being silenced by the Powers That Be. Alessan: “They’re all just being submissive and doing what The Powers That Be want them to do!” 🤔 ---
**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2026, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-am-i-now-seeing-the-term-unalived-all-over-the-place-instead-of-the-much-shorter-killed-or-died/1028092/65 "2026-03-02T19:50:47Z")
The term “unalived” makes me gag even when I’m just reading it. Each time I see or hear it, I automatically think of George Carlin’s bit about euphemisms from over 30 years ago, except it’s not being used as a joke. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2026, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-am-i-now-seeing-the-term-unalived-all-over-the-place-instead-of-the-much-shorter-killed-or-died/1028092/66 "2026-03-02T19:55:11Z")
Alessan: “The hell with Reddit and TikTok. I’m going to the SDMB where I can speak fucking English!” ---
**Author:** ![Pleonast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pleonast/32/1183_2.png) [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2026, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-am-i-now-seeing-the-term-unalived-all-over-the-place-instead-of-the-much-shorter-killed-or-died/1028092/67 "2026-03-02T19:57:44Z")
> [@NDP](#): > > The term “unalived” makes me gag even when I’m just reading it. \*snerk\* I see what you did there. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2026, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-am-i-now-seeing-the-term-unalived-all-over-the-place-instead-of-the-much-shorter-killed-or-died/1028092/68 "2026-03-02T20:19:19Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > Alessan: “The hell with Reddit and TikTok. I’m going to the SDMB where I can speak fucking English!” I find it hard to conceive of anyone under the age of forty or so feeling like that’s an acceptable solution. It’d be like getting kicked out of the most popular club in town, and declaring that you’re going to hang out at the VFW in protest. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2026, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-am-i-now-seeing-the-term-unalived-all-over-the-place-instead-of-the-much-shorter-killed-or-died/1028092/69 "2026-03-02T20:22:48Z")
> [@NDP](#): > > The term “unalived” makes me gag even when I’m just reading it. Each time I see or hear it, I automatically think of George Carlin’s bit about euphemisms from over 30 years ago, except it’s not being used as a joke. Neologisms definitely can be pretty grating. The only reason I don’t complain about them more than I do is that I know that a couple decades down the line my complaints will just sound gratuitously crotchety and curmudgeonly, because that term is just plain normal now. Remember twenty years ago when we had [Dopers starting threads to complain about the verbification of the word “action”](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-action-an-item/380465)? Some of us may still mildly roll our eyes at it, but “to action” is absolutely standard usage now, including on these boards. Encounter a neologism enough times in enough routine contexts, and it just stops seeming annoying or ridiculous, relegating all our initial irritated complaints about how intrinsically annoying or ridiculous that stupid word is to the ash heap of linguistic evolution. ---
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2026, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-am-i-now-seeing-the-term-unalived-all-over-the-place-instead-of-the-much-shorter-killed-or-died/1028092/70 "2026-03-02T20:28:21Z")
> [@Kimstu](#): > > But when you “gift” somebody something, it very unambiguously means that you’re presenting somebody with some specific thing as a mark of affection, gratitude, appreciation, etc. I agree it’s not really necessary to have a new term with that much more specific meaning, but I see why it’s become a standard term to connote the specialness of gift-giving. I very much get the distinction, having worked in probate and estate law as mentioned. But I’m sure it’s just a matter of time before someone “gifts” us a black eye, or something similar. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2026, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-am-i-now-seeing-the-term-unalived-all-over-the-place-instead-of-the-much-shorter-killed-or-died/1028092/71 "2026-03-02T20:31:26Z")
Yep, it’ll start off as sarcasm for comic effect, and then get overused as sarcasm to the point where people simply accept it unironically. Ah, language, why you gotta be like this. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2026, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-am-i-now-seeing-the-term-unalived-all-over-the-place-instead-of-the-much-shorter-killed-or-died/1028092/72 "2026-03-02T20:33:49Z")
Humans are why we can’t have nice things. Not even a nice language. ---
**Author:** ![scudsucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scudsucker/32/14101_2.png) [@scudsucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scudsucker)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2026, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-am-i-now-seeing-the-term-unalived-all-over-the-place-instead-of-the-much-shorter-killed-or-died/1028092/73 "2026-03-02T20:44:46Z")
> [@Kimstu](#): > > Some of us may still mildly roll our eyes at it, but “to action” is absolutely standard usage now Still bugs the fuck out of me. “To do”, coporate idiots, “to do” is the phrase your painfully mindless vocabularies are missing. ---
**Author:** ![Pleonast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pleonast/32/1183_2.png) [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2026, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-am-i-now-seeing-the-term-unalived-all-over-the-place-instead-of-the-much-shorter-killed-or-died/1028092/74 "2026-03-02T20:47:38Z")
> [@scudsucker](#): > > Still bugs the fuck out of me. Your verbing the noun “bug” and nouning the verb “fuck”. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2026, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-am-i-now-seeing-the-term-unalived-all-over-the-place-instead-of-the-much-shorter-killed-or-died/1028092/75 "2026-03-02T20:47:45Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > It’d be like getting kicked out of the most popular club in town, and declaring that you’re going to hang out at the VFW in protest. Fortunately, I refuse to join any club that would have me as a member. The way I see it, there are two ways of fighting silly and arbitrary rules, with no recourse or appeal: The first is to bend the rules. That works, for a while, but then they change the rules, and you bend them again, and they change again, and you bend again, and they change, and you bend, and in the end you find yourself bent into a pretzel and you have no idea who you are any more. The second is to say NO, and skedaddle to some other place where the rules are more to your liking. You won’t be in the popular club any more, but at least you won’t feel like a fucking idiot. And if enough people say NO, well, friends, they may think it’s a movement. Thank you for reading my manifesto. ---
**Author:** ![scudsucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scudsucker/32/14101_2.png) [@scudsucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scudsucker)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2026, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-am-i-now-seeing-the-term-unalived-all-over-the-place-instead-of-the-much-shorter-killed-or-died/1028092/76 "2026-03-02T20:49:26Z")
Touché, I think! A slightly grudging acknowledgement of my mistake. ---
**Author:** ![Lizzie1210](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f04885/32.png) [@Lizzie1210](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lizzie1210)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2026, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-am-i-now-seeing-the-term-unalived-all-over-the-place-instead-of-the-much-shorter-killed-or-died/1028092/77 "2026-03-02T21:17:18Z")
Facebook is known to reject comments and posts containing he word ‘dead’. So, I think many who have had that experience have begun to routinely use ‘unalive’ in place of ‘dead’. ---
**Author:** ![steronz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steronz/32/11765_2.png) [@steronz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steronz)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2026, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-am-i-now-seeing-the-term-unalived-all-over-the-place-instead-of-the-much-shorter-killed-or-died/1028092/78 "2026-03-02T21:21:53Z")
Yeah, 14 year olds aren’t good at organizing resistance efforts. ---
**Author:** ![Pleonast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pleonast/32/1183_2.png) [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2026, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-am-i-now-seeing-the-term-unalived-all-over-the-place-instead-of-the-much-shorter-killed-or-died/1028092/79 "2026-03-02T21:36:29Z")
> [@scudsucker](#): > > Touché, I think! > > A slightly grudging acknowledgement of my mistake. No, you didn’t make any mistake at all! Language changes. We tend to be aware of the changes that occur in our lifetime, but it was changing before then as well. The mistake would be thinking one’s own language usage has a privileged position in the history of linguistic evolution. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2026, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-am-i-now-seeing-the-term-unalived-all-over-the-place-instead-of-the-much-shorter-killed-or-died/1028092/80 "2026-03-02T22:21:13Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > The first is to bend the rules. That works, for a while, but then they change the rules, and you bend them again, and they change again, and you bend again, and they change, and you bend, and in the end you find yourself bent into a pretzel and you have no idea who you are any more. > > The second is to say NO, and skedaddle to some other place where the rules are more to your liking. You won’t be in the popular club any more, but at least you won’t feel like a fucking idiot. And if enough people say NO, well, friends, they may think it’s a movement. The Groucho Marx and Arlo Guthrie references aren’t doing wonders to dispel the “Old people yelling at clouds” aspect to this thread. Look, kids invent new slang. We did it when we were kids, our parent did it when they were kids, and it all goes back to one day on the Serengeti when some young punks decided that instead of referring to a rock as “grunt point grunt,” they were going to start calling them “rocks,” and the whole concept of language grew from there. And every generation grows up and complains that the new slang is stupid or doesn’t make sense, which has never once in history succeeded at getting teenagers to stop talking like teenagers. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-am-i-now-seeing-the-term-unalived-all-over-the-place-instead-of-the-much-shorter-killed-or-died/1028092.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-am-i-now-seeing-the-term-unalived-all-over-the-place-instead-of-the-much-shorter-killed-or-died/1028092.md?page=5)