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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
Wounds can become larger, and an infestation can often cause serious, deadly damage or death to the infected animal. Li Cohen, CBS News, 6 Jan. 2025 The deadly truck rampage, which authorities say was carried out by a man radicalized by ISIS, spurred fears of copycats and raised questions about how Trump’s isolationist tendencies will affect the war on terrorism. Alexis Simendinger, The Hill, 6 Jan. 2025
Adverb
The Bund event was deadly serious, featuring few jokes and no comedians. Russell Contreras, Axios, 28 Oct. 2024 Guy does not take him seriously, but Bruno is deadly serious. Duante Beddingfield, Detroit Free Press, 25 Oct. 2024 See all Example Sentences for deadly 
Recent Examples of Synonyms for deadly
Adjective
  • This physiological feat enables them to withstand conditions lethal to other fish.
    Scott Travers, Forbes, 8 Jan. 2025
  • The state is looking to carry out death sentences for several inmates who are out of appeals but who had their executions delayed because prison officials could not obtain lethal injection drugs.
    Landon Mion, Fox News, 5 Jan. 2025
Adjective
  • That’s the experience the viewer simply must embrace with The Brutalist: giving themselves over to the sheer loudness of it all.
    David Sims, The Atlantic, 10 Jan. 2025
  • But the sheer scale of what melodic techno DJ, producer, visual artist and visionary Anyma has created at Sphere Las Vegas is something to be experienced first hand.
    Danny Klein, SPIN, 10 Jan. 2025
Adjective
  • Pundits were saying that democracy itself was in mortal peril.
    Joshua Kaplan, ProPublica, 4 Jan. 2025
  • Sometimes a rat will bite Katie’s face during its mortal struggle, but Ms. Darby has learned to clean superficial wounds.
    Andy Newman, New York Times, 23 Dec. 2024
Adverb
  • A bit fusion-like, but focused more on standalone foods that unexpectedly, work extremely well together.
    Zareen Syed, Chicago Tribune, 14 Jan. 2025
  • The German wing is an extremely smart basketball player.
    Sam Vecenie, The Athletic, 14 Jan. 2025
Adjective
  • But as Trump prepares to retake the White House Monday, Democratic leaders have highlighted other results that show November's losses are not fatal.
    Stephen Fowler, NPR, 18 Jan. 2025
  • In subsequent comments, Cal Fire said no emissions or smog inspections were conducted and warned that a vehicle failure in a fire zone could be fatal.
    Stephen Hobbs, Sacramento Bee, 17 Jan. 2025
Adjective
  • Hunter Biden The Justice Department special counsel, whose six-year case into Hunter Biden was short-circuited by the unconditional pardon President Joe Biden granted to his son, criticized the outgoing president in his final report released Monday.
    Andrew Torgan, CNN, 14 Jan. 2025
  • Special counsel David Weiss released a final report Monday on the investigation into Hunter Biden after the case ended when President Biden issued an unconditional pardon for his son last month.
    Sareen Habeshian, Axios, 14 Jan. 2025
Adjective
  • Caleb was rushed to a hospital where he was pronounced dead, but not before making a phone call.
    Jennifer Rodriguez, Miami Herald, 13 Jan. 2025
  • He was later pronounced dead at University of Arkansas of Medical Sciences at 4 p.m. Saturday.
    Daniel McFadin, arkansasonline.com, 13 Jan. 2025
Adverb
  • The Chiefs fell behind by 24 points in the second quarter but incredibly led 28-24 at halftime after Patrick Mahomes threw four touchdown passes in the period.
    Pete Grathoff, Kansas City Star, 8 Jan. 2025
  • The number of highly intelligent species on earth represents an incredibly small percentage compared to the total number of species, Bruce Lieberman, the book’s co-author, and an evolutionary biologist and paleontologist at the University of Kansas in Lawrence, told me via email.
    Bruce Dorminey, Forbes, 8 Jan. 2025

Thesaurus Entries Near deadly

Cite this Entry

“Deadly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/deadly. Accessed 21 Jan. 2025.

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