mortal

[mawr-tl]

adjective

1. subject to death; having a transitory life.

   all mortal creatures.

2. of or relating to human beings as subject to death; human.

   this mortal life.

3. belonging to this world.

4. deadly or implacable; relentless.

   a mortal enemy.

5. severe, dire, grievous, or bitter.

   in mortal fear.

6. causing or liable to cause death; fatal.

   a mortal wound.

7. to the death.

   mortal combat.

8. of or relating to death.

   the mortal hour.

9. involving spiritual death (venial ).

   mortal sin.

10. long and wearisome.

11. extreme; very great.

    in a mortal hurry.

12. conceivable; possible.

    of no mortal value to the owners.

noun

1. a human being.

2. the condition of being subject to death.

mortal

/ ˈmɔːtəl /

adjective

1. (of living beings, esp human beings) subject to death

2. of or involving life or the world

3. ending in or causing death; fatal

   a mortal blow

4. deadly or unrelenting

   a mortal enemy

5. of or like the fear of death; dire

   mortal terror

6. great or very intense

   mortal pain

7. possible

   there was no mortal reason to go

8. slang,  long and tedious

   for three mortal hours

noun

1. a mortal being

2. informal,  a person

   a mean mortal

Other Word Forms

• mortally adverb
• nonmortal adjective
• nonmortally adverb
• postmortal adjective
• postmortally adverb
• premortal adjective
• premortally adverb
• unmortal adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of mortal¹

First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English, Middle French mortal, mortel, from Latin mortālis, equivalent to mort- (stem of mors ) “death” + -ālis -al ¹; ambrosia ( def. ); murder ( def. ); murther ( def. )

Word History and Origins

Origin of mortal¹

C14: from Latin mortālis, from mors death

Synonym Study

See fatal.

Example Sentences

That may have been the moment when he realised these MPs had not come equipped for mortal combat.

Read more on BBC

Truly, the only question he might legitimately have about his fate after shuffling off this mortal coil is which of Dante’s circles of hell he has rightfully earned.

Read more on Salon

“Normally, I’m like, ‘I don’t want to do that,’” says Jackman, over Zoom from a New York hotel room, as if he’s confessing a mortal sin.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

But the biggest cheer came when he talked about how he had stopped “a mortal threat to the franchise business model by terminating the infamous Obama joint-employer rule” during his first term.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

“Oh, you know—when you have millennia of memories in this mortal mind, it’s hard to remember terminologies all the time.”

Read more on Literature

Related Words

• dire 
• fatal 
• grievous 
• grim 
• lethal 
• malignant 
• terrible