lethal
[lee-thuh l]
- of, relating to, or causing death; deadly; fatal: a lethal weapon; a lethal dose.
- made or carried out to cause death: a lethal chamber; a lethal attack.
- causing great harm or destruction: The disclosures were lethal to his candidacy.
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Origin of lethal
1575–85; < Latin lētālis, equivalent to lēt(um) death + -ālis -al1; spelling (hence pronunciation) with -h- by association with Greek lḗthē oblivion
Synonyms
See more synonyms for lethal on Thesaurus.com1. See fatal.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for nonlethal
Contemporary Examples
But drones can be used for nonlethal means as well, such as this project to protect rhinos from poachers in India.
About half of $1.4 billion in promised U.S. nonlethal aid, like helicopters, has been delivered.
nonlethal
- not resulting in or capable of causing death
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lethal
- able to cause or causing death
- of or suggestive of death
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Word Origin
C16: from Latin lēthālis, from lētum death
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
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Word Origin and History for nonlethal
lethal
adj.
1580s, from Late Latin lethalis, alteration of Latin letalis "deadly, fatal," from letum "death," of uncertain origin. Form altered in Late Latin by association with lethe hydor "water of oblivion" in Hades in Greek mythology, from Greek lethe "forgetfulness."
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
lethal
(lē′thəl)- Capable of causing death.
- Of, relating to, or causing death.
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The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.