A “dead letter” is a letter or package that cannot be delivered because the address is incorrect or the recipient is deceased. It can also refer to a law or policy that is no longer enforced or effective.
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It is an idiom that indicates something that is no longer in use or cannot be used. In the context of a letter, it cannot be delivered because the address is wrong or the person it was meant for is dead.
Dead Letter Meaning
A law or an agreement that still exists but that is ignored
Dead Letter Sentence Examples
- The letter was marked as a dead letter because the address was incorrect.
- His attempts to revive the dead letter of a policy were in vain.
- The letter had been sitting in the post office for so long it had become a dead letter.
- The law was a dead letter, no one enforced it anymore.
- The proposal was a dead letter, it was never implemented.
- The idea was a dead letter, it never took off.
- The plan was a dead letter, it was never put into action.
- He knew that his message was a dead letter. It would never reach its intended recipient.
- The policy was a dead letter, it had been superseded by newer legislation.
- The regulation was a dead letter, it was no longer enforced.
