darkness► dead someone or something that is dead has stopped living: · She's no longer breathing - I think she's dead.· The dead man's wife was questioned by police.· The doctor told him that unless he stopped drinking he would be dead within a year.· It was autumn, and the path was covered in dead leaves.· These flowers look dead - shall I throw them away?· Following the shoot-out six people were dead and three were wounded.dead on arrival (=already dead when arriving at a hospital): · One of the gunshot victims was pronounced dead on arrival at City Hospital.
► late formal use this as a polite way of talking about someone who has died, especially someone who died recently: somebody's late husband/wife/mother/father: · She set up the fund in memory of her late husband.the late President Marcos/John Lennon etc: · He is a big fan of reggae music and the late Bob Marley.
► stone-dead/dead as a doornail informal completely dead - use this when you are completely certain that someone or something is dead: · By the time we found him he was stone-dead.· Tom poked the bird with a stick. "Yeah, it's as dead as a doornail."
► lifeless something that is lifeless shows no sign of life - use this about someone's body, or someone's hand or face: · He took the dead girl's hand. It felt cold and lifeless.· The men found Dunlap's lifeless body slumped in the front seat of his car.
► the dead especially written people who have died - use this especially about people who died in wars or accidents: · a religious service to commemorate the dead of two World Wars· Four of the dead had been travelling in the same car.· Ordinary Americans are beginning the heart-breaking task of counting their dead.
► the deceased formal a dead person, especially one who has died recently - used especially in news reports and legal contexts: · The deceased died from an overdose of diet pills.
► posthumous given to someone or done for someone after they die: · Bentley's relatives are demanding a posthumous pardon from the government.
► be pushing up daisies spoken if someone is pushing up daisies , they are dead - used humorously: · He talks about spending his parents' money as if they were already pushing up daisies.
the deceased someone who has died, especially recently: 
The deceased left a large sum of money to his children.