stop dead
Cease all motion
To stop dead is to halt suddenly and completely, with no gradual slowing: She stopped dead when she saw the snake.
The phrase emphasizes abruptness—movement ceases instantly, as if life itself had ended.
Often appears as stop dead in one's tracks, adding the image of frozen footprints.
Become solid from cold
- ceaseTo discontinue activity
- haltComplete sudden stop
- standstillTotal cessation of movement
- brakeDevice to slow motion
arrest · immobilize · pause · suspend · discontinue · terminate · end · desist
Solidified by extreme cold
- paralyzedUnable to move voluntarily
- rootedFirmly established in place
- stock-stillEntirely without motion
- motionlessLacking all movement
stationary · immobile · rigid · petrified · anchored · fixed · still · inert
Shocked into speechlessness
- startledAbruptly surprised or alarmed
- astonishedGreatly shocked, overwhelmed
- stupefiedOverwhelmed into mental blankness
- dumbfoundedRendered speechless by surprise
thunderstruck · aghast · speechless · floored · gobsmacked · taken aback · blindsided · jolted
During an utterance
- on the spotImmediately, without preparation
- in placeCorrectly positioned
- instantlyWithout any pause
- immediatelyWithout any pause
abruptly · suddenly · without warning · unexpectedly · short
freeze
Become solid from cold
- ceaseTo discontinue activity
- haltComplete sudden stop
- standstillTotal cessation of movement
brake · arrest · immobilize · pause · suspend · discontinue · terminate · end · desist · cut off
frozen
Solidified by extreme cold
- paralyzedUnable to move voluntarily
- rootedFirmly established in place
- stock-stillEntirely without motion
motionless · stationary · immobile · rigid · petrified · anchored · fixed · still · inert · unmoving
stunned
Shocked into speechlessness
- startledAbruptly surprised or alarmed
- astonishedGreatly shocked, overwhelmed
- stupefiedOverwhelmed into mental blankness
dumbfounded · thunderstruck · aghast · speechless · floored · gobsmacked · taken aback · blindsided · jolted · shaken
mid-sentence
During an utterance
- on the spotImmediately, without preparation
- in placeCorrectly positioned
- instantlyWithout any pause
immediately · abruptly · suddenly · without warning · unexpectedly · short
stop deadkeep going
Maintain forward progress
carry on · press on · keep moving · push forward · continue
stop deadtake off
Begin flight, depart
shoot off · spring into action · launch · bolt · tear away
stop deadkeep at it
Continue trying steadily
press forward · soldier on · persist · proceed · power through
stop, stopped, stopping, stops, stopper, stoppage, unstoppable, dead