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Glite Dictionary
nonlethally

nonlethally

1 6.9
In a way that does not cause death
  • adverb
  • /ˌnɒnˈliːθəli/
: sin causar la muerte
  • The security team responded nonlethally by using rubber bullets instead of live ammunition.

Examples

  • The officers acted nonlethally to subdue the suspect without causing serious harm.

  • Wildlife experts try to manage animal populations nonlethally whenever possible.

  • The police were trained to subdue suspects nonlethally.

  • The new tasers are designed to incapacitate nonlethally.

  • The security team used their tasers nonlethally to subdue the aggressive suspect.

  • The protestors were dispersed nonlethally, using only water cannons and tear gas.

  • The medic administered a nonlethal tranquilizer to calm the distressed animal.

Antonyms

lethally
3 6.8

In a way that can cause death

How Lethal

lethally
3 6.8
dangerously
96 3.2
harmfully
1 4.3
nonlethally
1 6.9
harmlessly
8 2.3

Surface Forms

nonlethally positive

Morphology

nonlethally = nonlethal (transparent) = non + lethal + ly

Formed by adding the adverbial suffix '-ly' to the clearly analysable adjective 'nonlethal', so the derivation and meaning are direct.

Etymology

Nonlethally comes from the prefix non- meaning 'not' and the word lethal meaning 'causing death'. So nonlethally simply means 'in a way that does not cause death', for example using methods that stop someone or an animal without killing them.