Unalive
Etymology
A deliberate coinage from un- plus alive, popularized on TikTok and YouTube around 2021 as content-moderation systems began downranking words like “kill” and “suicide.” It is a canonical case of algospeak — vocabulary reverse-engineered to evade automated detection.
verb · /un-uh-LYVE/
A euphemism for kill or die, used to discuss death and suicide without tripping platform moderation filters.
What it names
It names a whole category of workaround language — “algospeak” — that users invent to keep sensitive topics visible when direct words get posts suppressed or demonetized. “Unalive” is the clearest example: a coinage whose very shape is dictated by an algorithm rather than by ordinary word-formation.
Example
Creators discussing mental health say “unalive” because the plain word gets their videos buried.
Related idea
A specific instance of euphemism, but one driven by machine moderation rather than social politeness.