deathly

[deth-lee]

adjective

1. causing death; deadly; fatal.

2. like death.

   a deathly silence.

3. of, relating to, or indicating death; morbid.

   a deathly odor from the sepulcher.

adverb

1. in the manner of death.

2. very; utterly.

   deathly afraid.

deathly

/ ˈdɛθlɪ /

adjective

1. deadly

2. resembling death

   a deathly quiet

Other Word Forms

• deathliness noun
• predeathly adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of deathly¹

before 1000; Middle English dethlich, Old English dēathlīc. See death, -ly

Example Sentences

In a scene also reminiscent of past October failures, just a few steps from the party, the Dodgers clubhouse was deathly quiet.

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He could have been totally fine, or he could have gotten deathly ill.

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As he struggled with a system, which aimed to preserve secrecy and deepen separation, he didn’t know about a deathly further dimension to the institutional inhumanity.

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When Charlie Hopkins thinks back to the three years he spent in one of America's most famous prisons, he remembers the "deathly quiet" the most.

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Despite their addiction to Russian energy, they ironically claim to be deathly afraid of Putin’s territorial ambitions.

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