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deadly definition

deadly (ded′lē)

adjective deadlier -·lier, deadliest -·li·est

  1. causing death or likely to cause death a deadly poison
  2. to the death; mortal or implacable deadly combat, deadly enemies
  3. typical of death deadly pallor
  4. very harmful; destructive
    1. extreme or excessive deadly silence
    2. out-and-out; utter with deadly gravity
  6. oppressively tiresome a deadly bore
  7. perfectly accurate deadly aim
  8. Theol. causing spiritual death the seven deadly sins

Etymology: ME dedlich < OE deadlic: see dead & -ly

adverb deadlier -·lier, deadliest -·li·est

  1. in a way suggestive of death to lie deadly still
  2. extremely or excessively deadly serious

Related Forms:

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

deadly Synonyms

deadly

modif.

  1. Causing death

    fatal, lethal, murderous, mortal, deathly, poisonous, toxic, homicidal, bloody, noxious, destructive, venomous, deleterious, baleful, malignant, terminal, virulent, injurious, pestilential, pestiferous, death-dealing, carcinogenic, suicidal, bloodthirsty, cannibalistic, life-threatening, killing, baneful, pernicious, harmful, violent, inevitable; see also dangerous 2, destructive 2.

    Antonyms healthful*, reviving, beneficial. *

  2. Very tiresome

    boring, tedious, tiresome; see dull 4.

deadly is applied to a thing that can and probably (but not inevitably) will cause death a deadly poison; fatal implies the inevitability or actual occurrence of death or disaster a fatal disease, a fatal mistake; mortal implies that death has occurred or is about to occur and is applied to the immediate cause of death he has received a mortal blow; lethal is applied to that which in its nature or purpose is a cause of death a lethal weapon, a lethal dose


Webster's New World Roget's A-Z Thesaurus Copyright © 1999 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

deadly Usage Examples

Modifies a noun

  • poison: He was told to use Black Leaf 40 ( a deadly poison ) to kill Castro.

Modifying Another Word

  • potentially: Perhaps the most severe and potentially deadly of the limitations is CNS oxygen toxicity.

Used with adjective complement

  • prove: Pop ups fished just under the surface also continue to prove deadly with a number of fish falling to such tactics.

Preposition: in

  • front: We just need to be a bit more deadly in front of goal.

Preposition: for

  • people: So it seems, from reading the Angioma Alliance discussion mailing list that Aspirin and Ibuprofen are deadly for people with cavernomas.

Preposition: than

  • male: For the female of the species is more deadly than the male.
deadly usage examples (more)

The word usage examples above have been gathered from various sources to reflect current and historical usage. They do not represent the opinions of YourDictionary.com.

deadly quotes

Soap and education are not as suddenas a massacre, but theyare more deadly in the long run.

-Twain, Mark pseudonym of  Samuel Langhorne Clemens

deadly quotes (more)

Webster's New World Dictionary of Quotations Copyright © 2005 by Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. Published by Wiley, Hoboken, NJ. Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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MLA Style

"deadly." Webster's New World College Dictionary. 2009

  • Your Dictionary. 5 July 2009
  • <www.yourdictionary.com/deadly>

APA Style

deadly. (2009). In Webster's New World College Dictionary

  • Retrieved July 5th, 2009, from www.yourdictionary.com/deadly

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