Deadass
what it means
Stronger than "fr". "Deadass?" as a question means "are you serious?", and "deadass" as a statement means "I am completely serious".
Seriously, genuinely — an insistence that you are not joking.
the origin story
New York City slang, particularly associated with Brooklyn and Queens AAVE, in use since at least the 2000s.
Its spread beyond New York is heavily tied to drill music and NYC TikTok creators in the late 2010s. It kept a strong regional identity longer than most slang, and using it still reads as a nod to New York speech.
in the wild
They cancelled the whole trip.
Deadass?
Deadass.
I deadass haven't slept in two days.
Go to bed right now.
how to use it
- Insisting you're serious about something surprising
- Asking someone to confirm news you can't believe
- Casual conversation and texts
- In formal writing
- Stacked with fr and no cap, which dilutes all three
- In a genuinely serious conversation where plain language is better
related terms
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