nonlethal

American

[nahn-leeth-uhl] / ˌnɑnˈliθ əl /

adjective

not lethal; not causing death.

nonlethal British

/ nɒnˈliːθəl /

adjective

not resulting in or capable of causing death

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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nonlethal

Arama, an early researcher of these nonlethal caspase functions, suspected that they might also help drive compensatory proliferation.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 18, 2026

Current rules limit exports to nonlethal uses, such as rescue missions, transportation and minesweeping.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 9, 2026

Judge Menendez's 83-page order bars federal agents from arresting and "using pepper-spray or similar nonlethal munitions and crowd dispersal tools against persons who are engaging in peaceful and unobstructive protest activity".

From BBC ● Jan. 17, 2026

The protester, a 21-year-old who asked to only be identified as K, had been hit by a nonlethal round fired by an agent only feet away.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 13, 2026

When one of 'em lines up with a live contact, you get quite a little jolt—guaranteed nonlethal.

From Gambler's World by Keith Laumer

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023