mortal
Americanadjective
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subject to death; having a transitory life.
all mortal creatures.
-
of or relating to human beings as subject to death; human.
this mortal life.
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belonging to this world.
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deadly or implacable; relentless.
a mortal enemy.
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severe, dire, grievous, or bitter.
in mortal fear.
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causing or liable to cause death; fatal.
a mortal wound.
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to the death.
mortal combat.
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of or relating to death.
the mortal hour.
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involving spiritual death (opposed to venial).
mortal sin.
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long and wearisome.
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extreme; very great.
in a mortal hurry.
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conceivable; possible.
of no mortal value to the owners.
noun
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a human being.
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the condition of being subject to death.
adjective
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(of living beings, esp human beings) subject to death
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of or involving life or the world
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ending in or causing death; fatal
a mortal blow
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deadly or unrelenting
a mortal enemy
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of or like the fear of death; dire
mortal terror
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great or very intense
mortal pain
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possible
there was no mortal reason to go
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slang long and tedious
for three mortal hours
noun
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a mortal being
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informal a person
a mean mortal
Related Words
See fatal.
Other Word Forms
- mortally adverb
- nonmortal adjective
- nonmortally adverb
- postmortal adjective
- postmortally adverb
- premortal adjective
- premortally adverb
- unmortal adjective
Etymology
Origin of mortal
First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English, Middle French mortal, mortel, from Latin mortālis, equivalent to mort- (stem of mors ) “death” + -ālis -al 1; see ambrosia ( def. ); murder ( def. ); murther ( def. )
Explanation
You are a mortal because you are mortal. This means that you are an individual destined to die because you are susceptible to death. The word mortal has one of the most ancient genealogies of any word in English or any other language. It is related to English words like "murder" and "mortuary," and to the French, Italian, Spanish, and Russian words for "death." Something that can kill you can also be described as mortal. If you're in mortal danger, you're in a deadly situation. Action heroes often think they are dealing their enemy a mortal blow, but sometimes the enemy manages to come back to life. People are called mortals because at some point, they die.
Vocabulary lists containing mortal
The Balcony Scene from "Romeo and Juliet"
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Brown Girl Dreaming
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Purple Hibiscus
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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.
He was a diminutive guitar deity who could only have descended in America, but calling him something so plain and mortal as “American” still feels close to sacrilege.
From Salon • Apr. 21, 2026
Immediately after sitting down, my seatmate informed me that we were rooting for green and blue, and the other team was our mortal enemies.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 10, 2026
You have to strain to see him, way up there, high above this mortal coil.
From Slate • Feb. 16, 2026
Looking suddenly mortal, the “quad god” fell on two of his jumps, missed another two of his quadruple jump attempts—and, in the most stunning twist of the Winter Olympics, missed the podium altogether.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 13, 2026
“You could return to the mortal world. You could see the sun again.”
From "The House of Hades" by Rick Riordan
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.
