lethal
Americanadjective
-
able to cause or causing death
-
of or suggestive of death
Related Words
See fatal.
Other Word Forms
- hyperlethal adjective
- lethality noun
- lethally adverb
- lethalness noun
- nonlethal adjective
- nonlethally adverb
- semilethal adjective
Etymology
Origin of lethal
First recorded in 1575–85; from Latin lētālis, equivalent to lēt(um) “death” + -ālis -al 1; spelling (hence pronunciation) with -h- by association with Greek lḗthē “oblivion”; Lethe ( def. )
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.
She’s lethal and dangerous, so it’s a fine edge that you have to walk.
From Los Angeles Times
Authorisation to carry the "non‑lethal" weapon is granted "on an experimental basis" for a period of three years from the date the decree enters into force, the journal entry said.
From Barron's
Anthropic, meanwhile, doesn’t want its technology used for operations including domestic surveillance and autonomous lethal activities.
They were utterly lethal in the opening minutes, Russell sending them on their way with an early penalty that was borne out of hard and direct rugby that England could not live with.
From BBC
If “One of Us” is an entertaining family saga of privilege and comeuppance, it is also a consummate novel of suspense in which revelations detonate with lethal accuracy.
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.
