life-threatening
Americanadjective
Explanation
Something life-threatening is seriously dangerous, and it might even result in death. If someone has a life-threatening illness, it's severe enough that they may need to be hospitalized. You can reassure your mom about the injuries you got when you were hiking up a mountain by saying, "Don't worry, my sprained ankle isn't life-threatening." In other words, it's not going to kill you. Things that are more likely to be life-threatening include cancer, bad head injuries, and run-ins with grizzly bears — they can indeed threaten your life.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Billy Caldwell, from Castlederg in County Tyrone, has a severe form of epilepsy, which at one point had him suffering hundreds of "life-threatening" seizures a day.
From BBC ● Aug. 17, 2026
Forecasters warned of life-threatening flooding and mudslides, with as much as 25 inches of rain possible at higher elevations.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 16, 2026
The heavy rainfall "will produce life-threatening flooding and mudslides, especially in areas of steep terrain."
From Barron's ● Aug. 15, 2026
His company's latest data shows that of the 4,362 scans carried out on clients who visited Neko Health's Stockholm headquarters last year, 1.2% discovered life-threatening conditions such as melanoma and leukaemia.
From BBC ● Aug. 8, 2026
Our mind, faced with a life-threatening situation, drastically limits the range and amount of information that we have to deal with.
From "Blink" by Malcolm Gladwell
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
