Sentence:  There were some broken men among these debtors who had been in jail so long, and were so miserable and destitute of friends, so <WSD>dead to the world</WSD>, and utterly forgotten and uncared for, that they implored their jailers not to set them free. 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  Without social relationships or communication; without emotional or tangible bonds to others.