DEADLY

deadly

(adjective) (of a disease) having a rapid course and violent effect

deadly, deathly, mortal

(adjective) causing or capable of causing death; “a fatal accident”; “a deadly enemy”; “mortal combat”; “a mortal illness”

deadly, lethal

(adjective) of an instrument of certain death; “deadly poisons”; “lethal weapon”; “a lethal injection”

baneful, deadly, pernicious, pestilent

(adjective) exceedingly harmful

deadly, mortal

(adjective) involving loss of divine grace or spiritual death; “the seven deadly sins”

deadly, venomous, virulent

(adjective) extremely poisonous or injurious; producing venom; “venomous snakes”; “a virulent insect bite”

madly, insanely, deadly, deucedly, devilishly

(adverb) (used as intensives) extremely; “she was madly in love”; “deadly dull”; “deadly earnest”; “deucedly clever”; “insanely jealous”

deadly, lifelessly

(adverb) as if dead

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Etymology

Adjective

deadly (comparative deadlier or more deadly, superlative deadliest or most deadly)

(obsolete) Subject to death; mortal.

Causing death; lethal.

Aiming or willing to destroy; implacable; desperately hostile.

Very accurate (of aiming with a bow, firearm, etc.).

(informal) Very boring.

(informal) Excellent, awesome, cool.

Adverb

deadly (comparative more deadly, superlative most deadly)

(obsolete) Fatally, mortally.

In a way which suggests death.

Extremely.

Usage notes

Some adjectives commonly collocating with deadly: serious, clever, good

Source: Wiktionary


Dead"ly, a.

1. Capable of causing death; mortal; fatal; destructive; certain or likely to cause death; as, a deadly blow or wound.

2. Aiming or willing to destroy; implacable; desperately hostile; flagitious; as, deadly enemies. Thy assailant is quick, skillful, and deadly. Shak.

3. Subject to death; mortal. [Obs.] The image of a deadly man. Wyclif (Rom. i. 23). Deadly nightshade (Bot.), a poisonous plant; belladonna. See under Nightshade.

Dead"ly, adv.

1. In a manner resembling, or as if produced by, death. "Deadly pale." Shak.

2. In a manner to occasion death; mortally. The groanings of a deadly wounded man. Ezek. xxx. 24.

3. In an implacable manner; destructively.

4. Extremely. [Obs.] "Deadly weary." Orrery. "So deadly cunning a man." Arbuthnot.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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Word of the Day

22 February 2025

ANALYSIS

(noun) the use of closed-class words instead of inflections: e.g., ‘the father of the bride’ instead of ‘the bride’s father’


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Coffee Trivia

Coffee has initially been a food – chewed, not sipped. Early African tribes consume coffee by grinding the berries together, adding some animal fat, and rolling the treats into tiny edible energy balls.

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