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adverb

Synonym Chooser

How does the adjective deadly differ from other similar words?

Some common synonyms of deadly are fatal, lethal, and mortal. While all these words mean "causing or capable of causing death," deadly applies to an established or very likely cause of death.

a deadly disease

When would fatal be a good substitute for deadly?

In some situations, the words fatal and deadly are roughly equivalent. However, fatal stresses the inevitability of what has in fact resulted in death or destruction.

fatal consequences

When is lethal a more appropriate choice than deadly?

While in some cases nearly identical to deadly, lethal applies to something that is bound to cause death or exists for the destruction of life.

lethal gas

When could mortal be used to replace deadly?

The synonyms mortal and deadly are sometimes interchangeable, but mortal implies that death has occurred or is inevitable.

a mortal wound

Examples Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of deadly
Adjective
All the McDonald's Items Taken Off the Menu — from Favorites to Failures McDonald's latest menu update comes after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) declared that a deadly E. coli outbreak traced back to ingredients in its Quarter Pounders was over. Brenton Blanchet, People.com, 5 Dec. 2024 The McDonald’s executive was also on the morning show to address the deadly E.Coli outbreak that was linked to onions used in McDonald’s Quarter Pounders. Rebecca Angel Baer, Southern Living, 5 Dec. 2024
Adverb
Guy does not take him seriously, but Bruno is deadly serious. Duante Beddingfield, Detroit Free Press, 25 Oct. 2024 Some seemed deadly dull, repetitive, or irrelevant. Steven Levy, WIRED, 4 Oct. 2024 See all Example Sentences for deadly 
Recent Examples of Synonyms for deadly
Adjective
  • Underwood, 44, is scheduled to be killed by lethal injection at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester on December 19.
    Jenna Sundel, Newsweek, 9 Dec. 2024
  • The state allows prisoners to choose their preferred method of execution: lethal injection or gas chamber.
    Annabella Rosciglione, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 6 Dec. 2024
Adjective
  • Working in this season's favor was the sheer unpredictability from week to week in terms of who was aligned with whom and what would happen at Tribal Council.
    Dalton Ross, EW.com, 12 Dec. 2024
  • The Rare Beauty founder also added on sheer black tights and a pair of cap-toe mary jane platforms.
    Hannah Malach, WWD, 11 Dec. 2024
Adjective
  • The crime, again, is that Harrison shot his dad in the heart, a mortal blow that, at the time, neither one of them did anything to alleviate.
    Ben Travers, IndieWire, 13 Dec. 2024
  • The mythical scenes depict the goddess of love, Venus, with her mortal lover, Adonis, as well as Hippolytus, son of Theseus, who rejected his stepmother Phaedra’s romantic advances.
    Jacqui Palumbo, CNN, 12 Dec. 2024
Adverb
  • The fields of law and insurance are extremely complicated for the layperson, with documents full of terms and concepts that may as well be a foreign language to those unfamiliar with them.
    Kyle J. Russell, USA TODAY, 16 Dec. 2024
  • These functions are easy to compute in one direction and extremely difficult to reverse.
    John Pavlus, WIRED, 15 Dec. 2024
Adjective
  • According to Kenny, the gunman was finally seen entering a cab that dropped him off near the George Washington Bridge Bus Terminal at 178th St and Broadway — his last known location — around 7:30 a.m., just 45 minutes after the fatal shooting.
    Thomas Tracy, New York Daily News, 7 Dec. 2024
  • This week’s fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare Chief Executive Brian Thompson has unleashed a wave of public feeling — exasperation, anger, resentment, helplessness — from Americans sharing personal stories of interactions with insurance companies, often seen as faceless corporate giants.
    Tom Murphy and Devi Shastri, Los Angeles Times, 7 Dec. 2024
Adjective
  • President Joe Biden’s full and unconditional pardon of his son, Hunter Biden, did not warrant front page coverage.
    Reader Commentary, Baltimore Sun, 4 Dec. 2024
  • In June, Hunter Biden was found guilty of three felony charges, but he has now been granted a full and unconditional pardon by his father, covering all potential offenses committed from January 1, 2014, to December 1, 2024.
    Josh Hammer, Newsweek, 3 Dec. 2024
Adjective
  • The Russell Wilson experiment in Denver was such a failure that he was eventually cut from the team, despite the financial ramifications: the Broncos incurred $85 million in dead salary over the 2024 and 2025 seasons by releasing Wilson, the largest dead cap hit in league history.
    Ben Morse, CNN, 14 Dec. 2024
  • After a long bout of gruff banter, Frank gets personal, invoking his dead son, Joseph.
    Wesley Stenzel, EW.com, 14 Dec. 2024
Adverb
  • The actress turned out to have a knack for creating incredibly fun Instagrams, putting her in a pantheon of stars who are just as fun to watch on the super-small screen, that includes Reese Witherspoon, Chrissy Teigen and Gwyneth Paltrow.
    Alex Apatoff, People.com, 9 Dec. 2024
  • The documentary highlights his global fame, something which has baffled Mackie, who comes across as incredibly grounded, despite his influence.
    Paul Du Quenoy, Newsweek, 9 Dec. 2024

Thesaurus Entries Near deadly

Cite this Entry

“Deadly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/deadly. Accessed 22 Dec. 2024.

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