causing or capable of causing death; fatal or deadly
Origin of lethal
Classical Latin letalis, lethalis from letum, death: see let
A sign warning of things that might be lethal.
The definition of lethal is something very harmful or destructive, especially something that could cause death.
A gun shot wound is an example of something that could be described as a lethal wound.
YourDictionary definition and usage example. Copyright © 2018 by LoveToKnow Corp
Link to this page
Cite this page
MLA Style
"lethal." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 24 April 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/Lethal>.
APA Style
lethal. (n.d.). Retrieved April 24th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/Lethal
lethal
Webster's New World College Dictionary, Fifth Edition Copyright © 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Link to this page
Cite this page
MLA Style
"lethal." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 24 April 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/Lethal>.
APA Style
lethal. (n.d.). Retrieved April 24th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/Lethal
lethal
adjective
- Causing or capable of causing death: a lethal weapon. See Synonyms at fatal.
- Extremely harmful; devastating: accusations lethal to the candidate's image.
Origin of lethal
Late Latin lēthālis alteration ( probably influenced by Lēthē Lethe ) of Latin lētālis from lētum deathRelated Forms:
- le·thal′i·ty
noun
- le′thal·ly
adverb
THE AMERICAN HERITAGE® DICTIONARY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE, FIFTH EDITION by the Editors of the American Heritage Dictionaries. Copyright © 2016, 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Link to this page
Cite this page
MLA Style
"lethal." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 24 April 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/Lethal>.
APA Style
lethal. (n.d.). Retrieved April 24th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/Lethal
Origin
From Latin lÄ“tÄlis (“mortal, deadly"), improperly written lethalis, from letum (“death"), improperly written as lethum, as associated with Greek λήθη (lethe, “forgetfulness").
Noun
(uncountable)
- (chemistry) 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.
English Wiktionary. Available under CC-BY-SA license.
Link to this page
Cite this page
MLA Style
"lethal." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 24 April 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/Lethal>.
APA Style
lethal. (n.d.). Retrieved April 24th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/Lethal
Sentence Examples
- The Watcher took a step back at his lethal tone.
- "You get one warning," he said in a tone far more lethal than he'd ever used with her.
- Hydrocyanic acid is a protoplasmic poison, directly lethal to all living tissues, whether in a plant or an animal.
- If his sudden stillness wasn't a warning, his purr turned to a low, lethal growl.
- The unit of antitoxin in Ehrlich's new standard is the amount requisite to antagonize i oo times the minimum lethal dose of a particular toxin to a guinea-pig of 250 grm.
» more...