zombitude

English

Etymology

Possibly from French zombitude, or independently from zombie +‎ -itude. Compare jerkitude, punkitude. Attested in English from the 20th century; see quotations below.

Noun

zombitude (uncountable)

1. The condition of being, resembling, or acting like a zombie.
   • 1991 November, Rhonda Lieberman, “Tina Barney: Janet Borden, Inc”, in Artforum International, volume 30, number 3, page 136:

     What Ralph Lauren presents as scenes of plenitude Barney exposes as scenes of zombitude.

   • 2006 July 14, David Hiltbrand, “Futuristic twist on a drug addict's spiral downward”, in Philadelphia Inquirer, page W4:

     A rambling depiction of a junkie’s descent into zombitude, A Scanner Darkly is set in the near future, but it clearly belongs to the overheated, drug-drenched ’70s, when supernal sci-fi author Philip K. Dick wrote this tale of narcs, paranoia and dire conspiracies.

   • 2009 April 18, Monica Hesse, “Pride, prejudice and zombies: Jane Austen updated”, in Waterloo Region Record, Kitchener, Ontario, page D20:

     The beauty of this side plot is that it’s true to Charlotte’s character. Austen drew her so completely that we know she would bear her zombitude with quiet grace.

   • 2014, Joseph Di Prisco, Subway to California, page 197:

     But in my experience, there is no such thing as mild when it comes to this drug. […] The it that produces zombie natter and zombie love, zombie argumentation and zombie play, […] Sticking your head through the chain-link fence zombitude to get at some.

French

Noun

zombitude f (uncountable)

1. The condition of being a zombie.
   • 2007, Danielle Dumontet, “La littérature haïtienne et ses diasporas [Haitian literature and its diasporas]”, in Ursula Mathis-Moser, Birgit Mertz-Baumgartner, editors, La littéreature “française” contemporaine: Contact de cultures et créativité [Contemporary “French” literature: cultural contact and creativity], page 102:

     C’est l’occasion pour lui de réfléchir sur le cultures de la Caraïbe. En résponse à un article réel paru dans Le Monde et inséré au tissu romanesque, il élabore des propositions pour mieux comprendre lefficacité de magie, les processus de zombitude et de dézombification.

     This is an opportunity for him to reflect on the cultures of the Caribbean. In response to an actual article from Le Monde inserted into the novel, he elaborates ways to understand the effects of magic and the processes of being a zombie and restoring the zombified.