"play dead" meaning in English

See play dead in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Verb

Forms: plays dead [present, singular, third-person], playing dead [participle, present], played dead [participle, past], played dead [past]
Head templates: {{en-verb|*}} play dead (third-person singular simple present plays dead, present participle playing dead, simple past and past participle played dead)
  1. To lie very still, like a corpse. Translations (to lie very still, like a corpse): fer el mort (Catalan), 裝死 /装死 (zhuāngsǐ) (Chinese Mandarin), ŝajnigi sin morta (Esperanto), leikkiä kuollutta (Finnish), esittää kuollutta (Finnish), teeskennellä kuollutta (Finnish), näytellä kuollutta (Finnish), faire le mort (French), თავს იმკვდარუნებს (tavs imḳvdarunebs) (Georgian), magpatay-patayan (Tagalog), ölü taklidi yapmak (Turkish)
    Sense id: en-play_dead-en-verb-C-W4-QxP Disambiguation of 'to lie very still, like a corpse': 98 2
  2. To act as though defeated while awaiting a chance to attack. Categories (topical): English animal commands Translations (to act as though defeated): 裝死 /装死 (zhuāngsǐ) (Chinese Mandarin), leikkiä kuollutta (Finnish), esittää kuollutta (Finnish), teeskennellä kuollutta (Finnish), näytellä kuollutta (Finnish), faire le mort (French), sich tot stellen (German), fare il morto (Italian), fingersi morto (Italian), 죽은 척을 하다 (jugeun cheogeul hada) (Korean), spille død (Norwegian), hacerse el muerto (Spanish), ölü taklidi yapmak (Turkish)
    Sense id: en-play_dead-en-verb-lygqsW1g Disambiguation of English animal commands: 43 57 Categories (other): English entries with incorrect language header, Entries with translation boxes, Pages with 1 entry, Pages with entries, Terms with Catalan translations, Terms with Esperanto translations, Terms with Finnish translations, Terms with French translations, Terms with Georgian translations, Terms with German translations, Terms with Italian translations, Terms with Korean translations, Terms with Mandarin translations, Terms with Norwegian translations, Terms with Spanish translations, Terms with Tagalog translations, Terms with Turkish translations Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 14 86 Disambiguation of Entries with translation boxes: 24 76 Disambiguation of Pages with 1 entry: 16 84 Disambiguation of Pages with entries: 12 88 Disambiguation of Terms with Catalan translations: 31 69 Disambiguation of Terms with Esperanto translations: 17 83 Disambiguation of Terms with Finnish translations: 31 69 Disambiguation of Terms with French translations: 23 77 Disambiguation of Terms with Georgian translations: 33 67 Disambiguation of Terms with German translations: 20 80 Disambiguation of Terms with Italian translations: 17 83 Disambiguation of Terms with Korean translations: 31 69 Disambiguation of Terms with Mandarin translations: 32 68 Disambiguation of Terms with Norwegian translations: 31 69 Disambiguation of Terms with Spanish translations: 15 85 Disambiguation of Terms with Tagalog translations: 30 70 Disambiguation of Terms with Turkish translations: 30 70 Disambiguation of 'to act as though defeated': 4 96
The following are not (yet) sense-disambiguated
Synonyms: play possum Related terms: thanatosis

Inflected forms

{
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "plays dead",
      "tags": [
        "present",
        "singular",
        "third-person"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "playing dead",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "present"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "played dead",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "played dead",
      "tags": [
        "past"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "*"
      },
      "expansion": "play dead (third-person singular simple present plays dead, present participle playing dead, simple past and past participle played dead)",
      "name": "en-verb"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "verb",
  "related": [
    {
      "_dis1": "0 100",
      "word": "thanatosis"
    }
  ],
  "senses": [
    {
      "glosses": [
        "To lie very still, like a corpse."
      ],
      "id": "en-play_dead-en-verb-C-W4-QxP",
      "translations": [
        {
          "_dis1": "98 2",
          "code": "ca",
          "lang": "Catalan",
          "sense": "to lie very still, like a corpse",
          "word": "fer el mort"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "98 2",
          "code": "cmn",
          "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
          "roman": "zhuāngsǐ",
          "sense": "to lie very still, like a corpse",
          "word": "裝死 /装死"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "98 2",
          "code": "eo",
          "lang": "Esperanto",
          "sense": "to lie very still, like a corpse",
          "word": "ŝajnigi sin morta"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "98 2",
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "to lie very still, like a corpse",
          "word": "leikkiä kuollutta"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "98 2",
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "to lie very still, like a corpse",
          "word": "esittää kuollutta"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "98 2",
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "to lie very still, like a corpse",
          "word": "teeskennellä kuollutta"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "98 2",
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "to lie very still, like a corpse",
          "word": "näytellä kuollutta"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "98 2",
          "code": "fr",
          "lang": "French",
          "sense": "to lie very still, like a corpse",
          "word": "faire le mort"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "98 2",
          "code": "ka",
          "lang": "Georgian",
          "roman": "tavs imḳvdarunebs",
          "sense": "to lie very still, like a corpse",
          "word": "თავს იმკვდარუნებს"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "98 2",
          "code": "tl",
          "lang": "Tagalog",
          "sense": "to lie very still, like a corpse",
          "word": "magpatay-patayan"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "98 2",
          "code": "tr",
          "lang": "Turkish",
          "sense": "to lie very still, like a corpse",
          "word": "ölü taklidi yapmak"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "_dis": "43 57",
          "kind": "topical",
          "name": "English animal commands",
          "parents": [
            "Animal commands",
            "Interjections",
            "Communication",
            "Lemmas",
            "All topics",
            "Fundamental"
          ],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "14 86",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with incorrect language header",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "24 76",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Entries with translation boxes",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "16 84",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with 1 entry",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "12 88",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with entries",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "31 69",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Catalan translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "17 83",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Esperanto translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "31 69",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Finnish translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "23 77",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with French translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "33 67",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Georgian translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "20 80",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with German translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "17 83",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Italian translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "31 69",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Korean translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "32 68",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Mandarin translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "31 69",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Norwegian translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "15 85",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Spanish translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "30 70",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Tagalog translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "30 70",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Turkish translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To act as though defeated while awaiting a chance to attack."
      ],
      "id": "en-play_dead-en-verb-lygqsW1g",
      "translations": [
        {
          "_dis1": "4 96",
          "code": "cmn",
          "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
          "roman": "zhuāngsǐ",
          "sense": "to act as though defeated",
          "word": "裝死 /装死"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "4 96",
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "to act as though defeated",
          "word": "leikkiä kuollutta"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "4 96",
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "to act as though defeated",
          "word": "esittää kuollutta"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "4 96",
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "to act as though defeated",
          "word": "teeskennellä kuollutta"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "4 96",
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "to act as though defeated",
          "word": "näytellä kuollutta"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "4 96",
          "code": "fr",
          "lang": "French",
          "sense": "to act as though defeated",
          "word": "faire le mort"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "4 96",
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "to act as though defeated",
          "word": "sich tot stellen"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "4 96",
          "code": "it",
          "lang": "Italian",
          "sense": "to act as though defeated",
          "word": "fare il morto"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "4 96",
          "code": "it",
          "lang": "Italian",
          "sense": "to act as though defeated",
          "word": "fingersi morto"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "4 96",
          "code": "ko",
          "lang": "Korean",
          "roman": "jugeun cheogeul hada",
          "sense": "to act as though defeated",
          "word": "죽은 척을 하다"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "4 96",
          "code": "no",
          "lang": "Norwegian",
          "sense": "to act as though defeated",
          "word": "spille død"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "4 96",
          "code": "es",
          "lang": "Spanish",
          "sense": "to act as though defeated",
          "word": "hacerse el muerto"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "4 96",
          "code": "tr",
          "lang": "Turkish",
          "sense": "to act as though defeated",
          "word": "ölü taklidi yapmak"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "synonyms": [
    {
      "_dis1": "0 100",
      "word": "play possum"
    }
  ],
  "wikipedia": [
    "Play Dead"
  ],
  "word": "play dead"
}
{
  "categories": [
    "English animal commands",
    "English entries with incorrect language header",
    "English lemmas",
    "English multiword terms",
    "English verbs",
    "Entries with translation boxes",
    "Pages with 1 entry",
    "Pages with entries",
    "Terms with Catalan translations",
    "Terms with Esperanto translations",
    "Terms with Finnish translations",
    "Terms with French translations",
    "Terms with Georgian translations",
    "Terms with German translations",
    "Terms with Italian translations",
    "Terms with Korean translations",
    "Terms with Mandarin translations",
    "Terms with Norwegian translations",
    "Terms with Spanish translations",
    "Terms with Tagalog translations",
    "Terms with Turkish translations"
  ],
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "plays dead",
      "tags": [
        "present",
        "singular",
        "third-person"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "playing dead",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "present"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "played dead",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "played dead",
      "tags": [
        "past"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "*"
      },
      "expansion": "play dead (third-person singular simple present plays dead, present participle playing dead, simple past and past participle played dead)",
      "name": "en-verb"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "verb",
  "related": [
    {
      "word": "thanatosis"
    }
  ],
  "senses": [
    {
      "glosses": [
        "To lie very still, like a corpse."
      ]
    },
    {
      "glosses": [
        "To act as though defeated while awaiting a chance to attack."
      ]
    }
  ],
  "synonyms": [
    {
      "word": "play possum"
    }
  ],
  "translations": [
    {
      "code": "ca",
      "lang": "Catalan",
      "sense": "to lie very still, like a corpse",
      "word": "fer el mort"
    },
    {
      "code": "cmn",
      "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
      "roman": "zhuāngsǐ",
      "sense": "to lie very still, like a corpse",
      "word": "裝死 /装死"
    },
    {
      "code": "eo",
      "lang": "Esperanto",
      "sense": "to lie very still, like a corpse",
      "word": "ŝajnigi sin morta"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "to lie very still, like a corpse",
      "word": "leikkiä kuollutta"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "to lie very still, like a corpse",
      "word": "esittää kuollutta"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "to lie very still, like a corpse",
      "word": "teeskennellä kuollutta"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "to lie very still, like a corpse",
      "word": "näytellä kuollutta"
    },
    {
      "code": "fr",
      "lang": "French",
      "sense": "to lie very still, like a corpse",
      "word": "faire le mort"
    },
    {
      "code": "ka",
      "lang": "Georgian",
      "roman": "tavs imḳvdarunebs",
      "sense": "to lie very still, like a corpse",
      "word": "თავს იმკვდარუნებს"
    },
    {
      "code": "tl",
      "lang": "Tagalog",
      "sense": "to lie very still, like a corpse",
      "word": "magpatay-patayan"
    },
    {
      "code": "tr",
      "lang": "Turkish",
      "sense": "to lie very still, like a corpse",
      "word": "ölü taklidi yapmak"
    },
    {
      "code": "cmn",
      "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
      "roman": "zhuāngsǐ",
      "sense": "to act as though defeated",
      "word": "裝死 /装死"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "to act as though defeated",
      "word": "leikkiä kuollutta"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "to act as though defeated",
      "word": "esittää kuollutta"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "to act as though defeated",
      "word": "teeskennellä kuollutta"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "to act as though defeated",
      "word": "näytellä kuollutta"
    },
    {
      "code": "fr",
      "lang": "French",
      "sense": "to act as though defeated",
      "word": "faire le mort"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "to act as though defeated",
      "word": "sich tot stellen"
    },
    {
      "code": "it",
      "lang": "Italian",
      "sense": "to act as though defeated",
      "word": "fare il morto"
    },
    {
      "code": "it",
      "lang": "Italian",
      "sense": "to act as though defeated",
      "word": "fingersi morto"
    },
    {
      "code": "ko",
      "lang": "Korean",
      "roman": "jugeun cheogeul hada",
      "sense": "to act as though defeated",
      "word": "죽은 척을 하다"
    },
    {
      "code": "no",
      "lang": "Norwegian",
      "sense": "to act as though defeated",
      "word": "spille død"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "sense": "to act as though defeated",
      "word": "hacerse el muerto"
    },
    {
      "code": "tr",
      "lang": "Turkish",
      "sense": "to act as though defeated",
      "word": "ölü taklidi yapmak"
    }
  ],
  "wikipedia": [
    "Play Dead"
  ],
  "word": "play dead"
}

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This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2025-02-03 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2025-01-20 using wiktextract (05fdf6b and 9dbd323). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

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