A substance that is lethal can kill people or animals.
...a lethal dose of sleeping pills.
...chemicals lethal to fish and aquatic mammals.
Synonyms: deadly, terminal, fatal, deathly More Synonyms of lethal
2. adjective
If you describe something as lethal, you mean that it is capable of causing a lot of damage.
High-powered cars are lethal weapons in the hands of inexperienced drivers.
Frost and wet are the lethal combination for plants.
lethal in British English
(ˈliːθəl)
adjective
1.
able to cause or causing death
2.
of or suggestive of death
Derived forms
lethality (liːˈθælɪtɪ)
noun
lethally (ˈlethally)
adverb
Word origin
C16: from Latin lēthālis, from lētum death
lethal in American English
(ˈliθəl)
adjective
causing or capable of causing death; fatal or deadly
SIMILAR WORDS: ˈfatal
Derived forms
lethality (ˈleˈthality) (ˈliˈθælɪti)
noun
lethally (ˈlethally)
adverb
Word origin
L letalis, lethalis < letum, death: see let1
Examples of 'lethal' in a sentence
lethal
This is a potentially lethal misconception.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
When they are wrongly adjusted, these lights are potentially lethal.
Times, Sunday Times (2017)
An incoming tide, sand bars and breeze is a lethal combination for such people of little swimming ability.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
USING a mobile behind the wheel is as potentially lethal as drink-driving.
The Sun (2016)
They have been done for by a lethal combination of high house prices and the credit crunch.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
Today the consumer can buy and use a wide variety of potentially lethal chemicals.
Lashford, Stephanie The Residue Report - an action plan for safer food (1988)
We are trying to get something which is lethal.
The Sun (2013)
The hospital confirmed she had taken a lethal dose.
Christianity Today (2000)
They add to research that shows how our lives are beset by contamination with potentially lethal bacteria.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
Not quite a lethal dose of chemistry but not far off.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
The combination is lethal for arts subjects.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
The doses they could experience would potentially be lethal in a very short period of time.
The Sun (2011)
That smile and that honeyed baritone make a lethal combination.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
In other languages
lethal
British English: lethal ADJECTIVE
A substance that is lethal can kill people or animals.
...a lethal dose of sleeping pills.
American English: lethal
Brazilian Portuguese: letal
Chinese: 致命的
European Spanish: letal
French: mortel
German: tödlich
Italian: letale
Japanese: 死をもたらす
Korean: 치명적인
European Portuguese: letal
Latin American Spanish: letal
All related terms of 'lethal'
lethal dose
the amount of a drug or other agent that if administered to an animal or human will prove fatal
lethal gene
a gene that causes death during some immature stage in the development of an organism
lethal combination
A combination of things is a mixture of them.
lethal injection
an injection that is intended to kill a person, esp as a method of capital punishment or form of euthanasia
mean lethal dose
the amount of a drug or other substance that, when administered to a group of experimental animals, will kill 50 per cent of the group in a specified time
median lethal dose
the amount of a drug or other substance that, when administered to a group of experimental animals, will kill 50 per cent of the group in a specified time
Chinese translation of 'lethal'
lethal
(ˈliːθl)
adj
[weapon, chemical etc]致命的 (zhìmìng de)
(adjective)
Definition
capable of causing death
a lethal dose of sleeping pills
Synonyms
deadly
a deadly disease currently affecting dolphins
terminal
terminal illness
fatal
She had suffered a fatal heart attack.
deathly
a deathly illness
dangerous
a dangerous undertaking
devastating
the devastating force of the floods
destructive
the awesome destructive power of nuclear weapons
mortal
a mortal blow
murderous
a series of murderous attacks
poisonous
All parts of the yew tree are poisonous.
toxic
virulent
A virulent form of the disease has appeared in Belgium.
pernicious (formal)
the pernicious effects of alcoholism
noxious
carbon monoxide and other noxious gases
baneful
Opposites
safe
,
healthy
,
harmless
,
wholesome
,
innocuous
Additional synonyms
in the sense of baneful
Synonyms
harmful,
fatal,
deadly,
disastrous,
destructive,
hurtful,
pernicious (formal),
noxious,
venomous,
ruinous,
calamitous,
baleful,
deleterious (formal),
injurious,
pestilential,
maleficent
in the sense of dangerous
Definition
likely or able to cause injury or harm
a dangerous undertaking
Synonyms
perilous,
threatening,
risky,
hazardous,
exposed,
alarming,
vulnerable,
nasty,
ugly,
menacing,
insecure,
hairy (slang),
unsafe,
precarious,
treacherous,
breakneck,
parlous (archaic),
fraught with danger,
chancy (informal),
unchancy (Scottish)
in the sense of deathly
Definition
deadly
a deathly illness
Synonyms
fatal,
terminal,
deadly,
terrible,
destructive,
lethal,
mortal,
malignant,
incurable,
pernicious (formal)
Synonyms of 'lethal'
lethal
Explore 'lethal' in the dictionary
Additional synonyms
in the sense of destructive
Definition
causing or capable of causing harm, damage, or injury
the awesome destructive power of nuclear weapons
Synonyms
devastating,
fatal,
deadly,
lethal,
harmful,
damaging,
catastrophic,
detrimental,
hurtful,
pernicious (formal),
noxious,
ruinous,
calamitous,
cataclysmic,
baleful,
deleterious (formal),
injurious,
baneful,
maleficent
in the sense of devastating
the devastating force of the floods
Synonyms
destructive,
damaging,
catastrophic,
harmful,
detrimental,
pernicious (formal),
ruinous,
calamitous,
cataclysmic,
deleterious (formal),
injurious,
maleficent
in the sense of fatal
Definition
resulting in death
She had suffered a fatal heart attack.
Synonyms
lethal,
deadly,
mortal,
causing death,
final,
killing,
terminal,
destructive,
malignant,
incurable,
pernicious (formal)
in the sense of mortal
Definition
causing death
a mortal blow
Synonyms
fatal,
killing,
terminal,
deadly,
destructive,
lethal,
murderous,
death-dealing
in the sense of murderous
a series of murderous attacks
Synonyms
deadly,
savage,
brutal,
destructive,
fell (archaic),
bloody,
devastating,
cruel,
lethal,
withering,
ferocious,
cut-throat,
bloodthirsty,
barbarous,
internecine,
death-dealing,
sanguinary
in the sense of noxious
Definition
poisonous or harmful
carbon monoxide and other noxious gases
Synonyms
harmful,
deadly,
poisonous,
toxic,
unhealthy,
hurtful,
pernicious (formal),
injurious,
unwholesome,
noisome,
pestilential,
insalubrious,
foul,
baneful (archaic),
detrimental
in the sense of pernicious
Definition
causing grave harm
the pernicious effects of alcoholism
Synonyms
wicked,
bad,
damaging,
dangerous,
evil,
offensive,
fatal,
deadly,
destructive,
harmful,
toxic,
poisonous,
malicious,
malign,
malignant,
detrimental,
hurtful,
malevolent,
noxious,
venomous,
ruinous,
baleful,
deleterious (formal),
injurious,
noisome,
baneful (archaic),
pestilent,
maleficent
in the sense of poisonous
Definition
of or like a poison
All parts of the yew tree are poisonous.
Synonyms
toxic,
fatal,
deadly,
lethal,
mortal,
virulent,
noxious,
venomous,
baneful (archaic),
mephitic
in the sense of terminal
Definition
(of an illness) ending in death
terminal illness
Synonyms
fatal,
deadly,
lethal,
killing,
mortal,
incurable,
inoperable,
untreatable
in the sense of virulent
Definition
extremely poisonous or harmful
A virulent form of the disease has appeared in Belgium.