Friday, April 4, 2008

Today's Word: zombify, zombification

zombify: To turn something into a zombie. Zombification is therefore the process of zombifying. I chose this word today because it so aptly describes how I feel. Outside, the gray, drizzly weather dampens streets, trees, and moods. For some reason, I haven't been sleeping well, so I am more tired than usual. And it's a Friday, right after lunch. I drift through the afternoon, trying to stay awake and to get work done, and occasionally I find myself blankly staring at the computer screen as if I have been zombified. If "real" zombies are "undead" or "the walking dead," I guess that makes me the "unslept" or the "walking sleeper." Zombify is also one of those words of note that separates dictionaries. Zombify appears in the Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary, 14th Edition, but not in the Webster's New World College Dictionary, 4th Edition.