lethal
193
4.8
- adjective
- /ˈliːθəl/
:
letal
- Furthermore, a ruminal fluid pH of 4 has been found to be lethal for goats.
- lethal dose
- lethal force
- lethal violence
So the military and large municipalities have what's called non lethal weaponry.
- So the military and large municipalities have what's called non lethal weaponry.
- We have the most lethal army in the world, right?
- We don't yet know if this new variant is more or less lethal than the previous COVID variants.
- Some people say that men choose more violent and lethal methods in suicide attempts.
- So there's no record in the genes of the mutations which were lethal.
- You and I both know that disordered eating is one of the, if not the most lethal mental health challenge, right?
- The headline for this was the second wave of COVID is less lethal.
- And, and the danger comes about when you start to enter lethal force into those biases.
Examples
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The security forces have also used lethal force against peaceful demonstrators, shooting unarmed civilians.
Academic text (1995) -
Every one of these pills could be as lethal as a bullet.
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It's a short term play that can be lethal for us in the long term.
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So this is a lethal condition.
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This has lethal effects in childhood.
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And the radiation would be lethal for humans in very, very short time.
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Papers are warning of a lethal resurgence.
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We don't yet know if this new variant is more or less lethal than the previous COVID variants.
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Officials in Beijing appear willing to employ lethal force to preserve the status quo.
Academic text (1993) -
The poison was found to be lethal, affecting anyone who consumed it within minutes.
Synonyms
543
2.8
Able to cause death or serious harm
380
4.0
Containing poison that can cause harm or death
224
3.7
Causing a person's death
90
2.8
Containing a substance that can make you sick and can cause death if eaten, touched, or breathed
26
6.0
Able to cause death
Antonyms
Compounds
How Deadly
Surface Forms
Morphology
lethal = leth + al
The segment 'leth' is not a productive English base word and the adjective is formed with a Latin-derived suffix '-al', so learners cannot derive the meaning from a familiar English base like 'death'.
Etymology
Lethal comes from the Latin word letum, which means 'death'. So something called lethal can cause death, which is why we use it for deadly weapons or poisons.