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.
ASF is highly contagious and lethal for pigs and wild boars, but it does not affect humans.
From BBC • Apr. 5, 2026
Bringing the Geneva Conventions and their prohibition of war crimes into the fight against lethal economic sanctions can raise the legal and political cost of enforcing them.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 1, 2026
Higher energy prices have the potential to cause stagflation —a lethal combination of higher inflation and lower growth that would likely undermine businesses’ bottom lines.
From Barron's • Mar. 27, 2026
Yet, in a narrow waterway like the Strait of Hormuz, they could prove lethal to warships—and tankers.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 26, 2026
Pathogenicity may be something of a disadvantage for most microbes, carrying lethal risks more frightening to them than to us.
From "The Lives of a Cell" by Lewis Thomas
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.
