lethal

Of, pertaining to, or causing death; deadly; mortal; fatal.

Adjective

  1. Of, pertaining to, or causing death; deadly; mortal; fatal.
    • Whether modern, industrial man is less or more warlike than his hunter-gatherer ancestors is impossible to determine. The machine gun is so much more lethal than the bow and arrow that comparisons are meaningless. -...

Origin

Learned borrowing from Latin lētālis (“deadly, mortal, fatal”), improperly written lēthālis, from lētum (“death”), improperly written as lēthum, from a supposed connection with Ancient Greek λήθη (lḗthē, “oblivion, forgetfulness”).

Forms

more lethal most lethal

Related

nonlethality semilethality sublethality sublethally

Derived

coat color dilution lethal colethal cytolethal haplolethal hyperlethal less-lethal less-than-lethal lethal allele lethal chamber lethal congenital contracture syndrome lethal dose lethal gene lethal injection lethality lethally lethalness lethal time lethal white syndrome lethal yellowing lethal zone nonlethal non-lethal semilethal semi-lethal

Noun Entry 2

  1. Any weapon that causes death.

    Antonyms: non-lethal

  2. An allele that causes the death of the organism that carries it.

Forms

lethals

Noun chemistry, natural sciences

  1. One of the higher alcohols of the paraffine series obtained from spermaceti as a white crystalline solid.

Origin

Abbreviation of “lauric acid ethereal salt”, so called because it occurs in the ethereal salt of lauric acid.