mortal
26
6.0
- adjective
- /ˈmɔrtəl/
:
mortal
- Again and again, Iran is configured as a mortal threat to its western neighbors.
- in mortal danger
- a mortal threat
- a mortal blow
They were killed because they had been put back in homes where they were in mortal danger.
- They were killed because they had been put back in homes where they were in mortal danger.
- All Clary can do is finish the rune that she's drawing and watch as Valentine throws his arm back and lets the mortal sword fly.
Examples
-
Our Queen is in mortal danger!
-
The pain of my mortal wound wracks me with titanic agonies.
Fiction book (2002) -
In his country, an act like this is considered a mortal threat.
Fiction book (1992) -
Princess, we're in mortal danger from our own forces.
-
Before I begin... I wanna say one thing: I'm putting you in mortal danger.
-
Buck had never been fearful, never one to back down in the face of mortal danger.
Fiction book (2002) -
Arthur stands in mortal peril.
-
Rabbi Yekiel said, "I fear our friend is in mortal danger."
Fiction book (1998) -
It's a profound sense of jeopardy, physical, mortal jeopardy.
-
The soldier faced a mortal danger when he entered enemy territory.
Synonyms
543
2.8
Able to cause death or serious harm
224
3.7
Causing a person's death
193
4.8
Able to cause death, for example by a weapon or poison
3
6.8
Able to cause death or serious harm
Antonyms
Idioms
Compounds
- Specialized
13
8.2
Very serious wrongdoing in Christian belief that stops God from forgiving you unless you say you are sorry
How Deadly
Surface Forms
Morphology
mortal = mort + al
The sense 'causing death' is directly related to the root meaning 'death' plus '-al', but because 'mort' is not an independent English base, learners may not reliably derive the meaning.
Etymology
Mortal comes from the Latin mortalis, from mors meaning 'death'. That is why a 'mortal' thing can cause 'death' and is often described as fatal.