Meaning of living death | Babel Free

Definitions

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

idiomatic, uncountable, usually

Examples

“La[dy Anne]. Neuer hung poiſon on a fouler toade, Out of my ſight thou doeſt infect⟳ my eies. Glo[ucester]. Thine eies ſweete Lady haue infected mine. La[dy Anne]. Would they were baſiliſkes to ſtrike thee dead. Glo[ucester]. I would they were that I might die⟳ at once, For now they kill⟳ me with a liuing death: […]”

“Mr Tulliver, who had begun, in his intervals of consciousness, to manifest an irritability which often appeared to have⟳ as a direct⟳ effect the recurrence of spasmodic rigidity and insensibility, had lain in this living death throughout the critical hours when the noise of the sale came nearest to his chamber.”

“If their creed were no longer tolerated, then, and if they remained true to it, they must either fly⟳ from the country or spend⟳ a living death tugging at an oar or working in a chain-gang upon the roads.”

“"[W]e cling⟳ so closely here to our own⟳ doctrine of isolation. . . ." "Isobel is intended, then?" I asked. "For the Church," Madame Richard answered. . . . "Madame," I answered, "Isobel is meant for life—not a living death."”

“WORF: When my foster brother and I were of age, we entered the Starfleet Academy. He hated it and returned to Gault. I stayed. KONMEL: You have⟳ not spent much time among your own⟳ kind. WORF: Hardly none. KORRIS: So, when the night was still and quiet, and the sound⟳ of the blood rushing through your veins filled your ears, the only way to silence it was to slip⟳ out into the night and, like⟳ the hunter that spawned you, join⟳ in the struggle⟳ of life and death. You were unable KONMEL: And those around you did not understand⟳. You frightened them. KORRIS: They shunned you. Cursed you. Called you vile names, and you knew not why. Even now do you know⟳ why you are driven? Why you cannot relent or repent or confess or abstain? How could you know⟳? There have⟳ been no other Klingons to lead⟳ you to that knowledge. WORF: Yes. Yes, those feelings are part of me. But I control⟳ them. They do not rule⟳ me. KORRIS: Yes. To fit in, the humans demand⟳ that you change⟳ the one thing that you cannot change⟳. Yet, because you cannot, you do. That too is the mark⟳ of the warrior. You said that I mock you. I do not. I salute you. KONMEL: But against whom do you test⟳ yourself? Against what enemy do you charge into battle? WORF: I have⟳ been in battle. KORRIS: Then you understand⟳. WORF: Yes, I do. KORRIS: Brother, this peace, this alliance, is like⟳ a living death to warriors like⟳ us. KONMEL: You're right, we lied to your Commander. We commandeered that freighter and left the crew behind, and we were in search⟳ of a place⟳ where we could live⟳ our lives like⟳ true Klingons.”

“A.L.S., or Lou Gehrig's disease, is often described as a kind of living death in which the body goes flaccid while the mind⟳ remains intact and acutely aware.”

CEFR level