plays dead
Pretends to expire
To play dead is to lie motionless, feigning death.
Animals do this instinctively to avoid predators—opossums are famous for it.
Dogs learn it as a trick.
People play dead to survive attacks or avoid detection: She played dead until the shooter left.
Figuratively, to play dead is to be unresponsive or pretend ignorance: The committee played dead on the issue.
- opossumAmerican pouch-bearing mammal
- feignPretend to have
- fake deathSimulated passing
- pretendAct as though
- not movingLacking motion or movement
freeze response · simulate · animal instinct · physical theater · self-preservation · act · passive resistance · strategic retreat · mimicry · instinctual behavior · defense mechanism · mime · symbolic gestures · stagecraft · method acting · denial · back · beats
plays deadfights back
Opposes an attacker
attacks · charges · retaliates · puts up a fight · takes action
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