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Definitions

at death's door

ADJECTIVE
dying
Synonyms
STRONGEST
decaying doomed fading moribund
STRONG
declining disintegrating ebbing fated final going mortal passing perishing sinking vanishing withering
WEAK
at end of rope done for giving up the ghost in extremis on last leg one foot in grave
Antonyms
STRONG
permanent
WEAK
creating developing growing living reviving
ADJECTIVE
moribund
Synonyms
WEAK
at the end of the rope declining done for doomed expiring fading fated going mortal mortally ill on one's deathbed on one's last leg one foot in the grave passing perishing
ADJECTIVE
terminally ill
Synonyms
WEAK
in critical condition on one's deathbed on the critical list

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

He says he is unable to stand or walk, and "is at death's door".

From BBC • Aug. 3, 2025

The musical “Rock & Roll Man” starts with an attention-grabbing gambit: It is 1965, and J. Edgar Hoover is prosecuting the D.J. and promoter Alan Freed, then at death’s door.

From New York Times • Jun. 21, 2023

There was something different happening here: the ex-con at death’s door coming clean with his regrets.

From Seattle Times • Sep. 8, 2021

Premature grief is the specter hovering over war-torn Yemen’s famine cases — malnourished children at death’s door — in Skye Fitzgerald’s latest dispatch from the Middle East, “Hunger Ward.”

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 1, 2021

“I suppose you told him I’m at death’s door or something,” Franny said.

From "Franny and Zooey" by J. D. Salinger