# 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:** 6
**Author:** ![Ponderoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponderoid/32/19221_2.png) [@Ponderoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponderoid)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2026, 3:29pm 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/1028092/101 "2026-04-29T15:29:16Z")
Semantic saturation achieved. You’re safe. ---
**Author:** ![Two\_Many\_Cats2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/779978/32.png) [@Two\_Many\_Cats2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_Many_Cats2)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2026, 9:16pm 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/1028092/102 "2026-05-05T21:16:48Z")
> [@Shalmanese](#): > > It _was_ borne from rebellion. The modern usage of unalive comes from a 2013 Spiderman cartoon that got turned into a meme on Roblox as a way to evade censorship there. I think the term is even older than that. I remember first hearing the term “to make unalive” in the _Doctor Who_ story “Paradise Towers”, which was first aired in 1987. Of course, that had nothing to do with censorship. That term was used mostly to make the Kangs street gangs in the story speak exotically. ---
**Author:** ![Shalmanese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shalmanese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shalmanese)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2026, 1:47am 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/1028092/103 "2026-05-06T01:47:21Z")
> [@Two\_Many\_Cats2](#): > > I think the term is even older than that. I remember first hearing the term “to make unalive” in the _Doctor Who_ story “Paradise Towers”, which was first aired in 1987. Hence, my phrasing of the _modern_ usage which was explicitly derived from the Spiderman cartoon. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2026, 1:54am 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/1028092/104 "2026-05-06T01:54:11Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > Buffalo. …buffalo Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo? ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2026, 11:58am 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/1028092/105 "2026-05-06T11:58:53Z")
Why are you typing that? That’s not even a word. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2026, 10:29pm 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/1028092/106 "2026-06-15T22:29:37Z")
Facebook post. A key sentence is > Sometime in late November 1981, he used his remaining fuel to make a warm fire and sh\*t himself to end his suffering. The comments were about what anyone with 2 brain cells to rub together would have expected. > **[Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=122233075604051573&id=61551547203250&post_id=61551547203250_122233075604051573&mibextid=oFDknk&rdid=mg8yhZ1GPQCeJIEf&share_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fshare%2Fp%2F1Ccx9eK8MM%2F%3Fmibextid%3DoFDknk)** ---
**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:** [June 15, 2026, 11:21pm 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/1028092/107 "2026-06-15T23:21:18Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > IMO, the current Tiktok slang isn’t that different from [Cockney rhyming slang](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhyming_slang) or [Polari](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polari) - it’s a way of being able to speak freely without the authority figures being able to understand you. And that can be very liberating. True, but it’s also an acknowledgment that the authority figures have power over you. You’re adapting to them instead of them adapting to you. ---
**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:** [June 16, 2026, 11:18am 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/1028092/108 "2026-06-16T11:18:46Z")
Agreed. But most people, given the choice, don’t really want to live a life of constant struggle against great power. The light easy way out is the baby accommodations to powr. Coupled to the hope things will get better. Rather than putting in the hard work to force things to get better. Most of the people who work hard to force change never live to see the results. The struggle itself must be sufficient reward for them, because there is no other reward available. Everyone else is free riding, whether consciously or not. ---
**Author:** ![Xarrot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xarrot/32/21728_2.png) [@Xarrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xarrot)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2026, 8:56am 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/1028092/109 "2026-06-17T08:56:00Z")
because youtube wants things to be family friendly so that advertisers are interested ---
**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:** [June 17, 2026, 11:37am 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/1028092/110 "2026-06-17T11:37:04Z")
I’m hardly a revolutionary myself, but you don’t have to be a revolutionary to engage in a little civil disobedience. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2026, 4:34pm 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/1028092/111 "2026-09-09T16:34:42Z")
Just saw a post on a Facebook account (“Morbid Knowledge”) that obviously automatically replaces the word “died” with “passed away” in their posts. > Megan Oxley passed away from heatstroke after her car ran out of gas in extreme heat and, being paralyzed from the waist down, she was unable to escape. > > The 36-year-old became stranded on a Missouri highway in August 2023 as temperatures exceeded 100°F (38°C) and her phone eventually passed away. > > Two young relatives managed to leave the vehicle and survived after treatment for heat exposure, but Oxley remained trapped inside and d\*ed. That poor phone. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2026, 4:55pm 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/1028092/112 "2026-09-09T16:55:12Z")
I don’t think it is an automatic Facebook function. I just posted that I accidentally forgot to plug in my phone last night and killed it, and it posted the word “killed”, just as I typed it. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2026, 5:01pm 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/1028092/113 "2026-09-09T17:01:00Z")
I mean the person running the account doing a find/replace on their own posts before posting. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2026, 5:26pm 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/1028092/114 "2026-09-09T17:26:29Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > Just saw a post on a Facebook account (“Morbid Knowledge”) that obviously automatically replaces the word “died” with “passed away” in their posts. When we announce a death at work we use the phrase “transitioned.” As in Odesio transitioned on March 5, 2026. It’s weird as hell. ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2026, 5:33pm 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/1028092/115 "2026-09-10T17:33:40Z")
There is a well-known, and probably apocrafil, story from back in precomputer times when people wrote memos. A government minister wrote a long rambling memo as a round robin to his staff. When it came back with notes attached, he saw that someone had simply written “Balls”. The minister enquired, “Who is Balls and to what does he object?” ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2026, 6:19pm 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/1028092/116 "2026-09-10T18:19:03Z")
G’rape’ or G’raped’ is another trend I’m hearing in conversations referencing sexual assault. What, like being violated by [Grimace](https://mcdonalds.fandom.com/wiki/Grimace)? I hate this timeline. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2026, 6:28pm 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/1028092/117 "2026-09-10T18:28:55Z")
> [@QuickSilver](#): > > G’rape’ or G’raped’ is another trend I’m hearing in conversations referencing sexual assault. I really HATE that euphemism. People that have been raped do not deserve to have that horrible experience trivialized and lessened in such a manner. 😡 ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2026, 6:53pm 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/1028092/118 "2026-09-10T18:53:50Z")
The irony of it is that presenters who use these idiotic substitutes are people who seem least likely to be in favor of trivializing sexual violence, murder or suicide. They capitulate because they don’t want to be demonetized by the media platforms where disambiguated language is penalized. But in the next breath they’ll drop f-bombs without hesitation. ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2026, 7:01pm 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/1028092/119 "2026-09-10T19:01:18Z")
I’m mostly seeing the actual words plus a tastefully placed asterisk or two. ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2026, 7:07pm 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/1028092/120 "2026-09-10T19:07:50Z")
> [@bob\_2](#): > > apocrafil 🤯 > **[APOCRYPHAL Definition & Meaning | Dictionary.com](https://www.dictionary.com/browse/apocryphal)** > > APOCRYPHAL definition: of doubtful authorship or authenticity. See examples of apocryphal used in a sentence. Credit for using it appropriately and at least sounding it out, I guesss [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=5) [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=7)