Word.ws English Dictionary

better dead than red

better dead than red proverb: it is preferable to be deceased than to be a Communist or ruled by Communists.

Proverb (1)

better dead than red

  1. It is preferable to be deceased than to be a Communist or ruled by Communists.
    • Canon Collins urged the electors to reject the candidate nominated by the Crown, Dr. R. W. Stopford, Bishop of Peterborough, who, he claimed, had said "it would be better to have nuclear war than to permit Communist domination over Britain." Canon Collins said: "I cannot believe it is proper for a...1961 August 14, “Canon Causes Stir At Church Election”, in The Age, Australia, retrieved 30 Oct 2013, page 11
    • The recertification of El Salvador's progress on human rights is nothing but a basic restatement of the Reagan foreign policy, which is "better dead than Red."1982 July 30, Mary McGrory, “Reagan View: El Salvador's slaughter better than communism”, in Spokane Chronicle, retrieved 30 Oct 2013, page 6

Proverb (2) capitalized: better Dead than Red

better Dead than Red

  1. (alternative) Alternative form of better dead than red.

Proverb (3) capitalized: better dead than Red

better dead than Red

  1. (alternative) Alternative form of better dead than red.

Forms of better dead than red

alternative formbetter dead than Red
alternative formbetter Dead than Red

Questions about better dead than red

What does better dead than red mean?
Better dead than red means it is preferable to be deceased than to be a Communist or ruled by Communists.
What part of speech is better dead than red?
Better dead than red is a proverb.

Words near better dead than red in the dictionary

  1. Better Boy
  2. Better Boy tomato
  3. Better Boy tomatoes
  4. Better Boys
  5. better built
  6. better dead than red
  7. better for it
  8. better for someone
  9. better for you
  10. better half
  11. better halves

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: better dead than red (page history and authors); better Dead than Red (page history and authors); better dead than Red (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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