deceased

Compared meaning: no longer alive, dead (adjective).

比较义项：已经死去、不再活着（形容词）。

• dead

  The plain, blunt, everyday word for no longer alive; used for people, animals or plants; works both before a noun and after a linking verb; carries no softening tone.

  最普通、直白的日常用词，指不再存活，可用于人、动物或植物；既能放在名词前，也能跟在系动词后面；没有委婉语气。

  The doctors confirmed that the patient was already dead on arrival.

  医生确认这名病人送到时已经死亡。

• late

  A euphemistic, slightly formal word used ONLY right before a name or a family noun to mean someone who has died; it cannot follow a linking verb with this meaning.

  一个委婉、略正式的词，只能直接放在人名或亲属称谓前面，表示某人已经去世；不能跟在系动词后面表达这个意思。

  My late grandmother used to bake bread every Sunday morning.

  我已故的祖母以前每个星期天都会烤面包。

• gone

  A soft, informal, comforting euphemism, almost always used after a linking verb like "be" or "have been"; it feels gentler than dead and is common in spoken, emotional contexts.

  一个柔和、口语化、带安慰意味的委婉说法，几乎总是跟在系动词（如 be、have been）后面；语气比 dead 更温和，常见于口语和情感场合。

  Her father has been gone for almost ten years now.

  她父亲已经去世将近十年了。

• deceased 本词

  A formal, official word typical of legal, medical or obituary language; often used before a noun or as a noun phrase ("the deceased"); it sounds cold and out of place in casual speech.

  一个正式、公文化的词，常见于法律、医学或讣告语言；常放在名词前，或本身作名词短语（“the deceased”意为“死者”）；在日常口语中使用会显得冷漠、不合场合。

  The deceased man's family requested a private funeral service next week.

  这位已故男子的家人要求下周举行一场私人葬礼。

Dead, late, gone, and deceased all mean no longer alive, but tone and grammar differ. Dead is plain, used for people or animals. Late goes only right before a name, meaning that person died. Gone is soft, used mainly after 'be'. Deceased is formal.

这几个词都表示“已经死去、不再存活”，但语气、正式程度和语法用法差别很大，中国学习者容易用错场合。这里不比较 dead 表示“（电池等）没电的”义项，late 表示“迟到的”义项，也不比较 gone 表示“离开了、用完了”等义项。