deadly

[ ded-lee ]

adjective

, dead·li·er, dead·li·est.

1. causing or tending to cause death; fatal; lethal:

   a deadly poison.

2. aiming to kill or destroy; implacable:

   a deadly enemy.

3. like death:

   a deadly pallor.

4. excruciatingly boring:

   The dinner party was absolutely deadly.

   Synonyms: dreary, tedious, dull

5. excessive; inordinate:

   deadly haste.

6. extremely accurate:

   Annie Oakley was a deadly shot.

adverb

1. in a manner resembling or suggesting death:

   deadly pale.

2. excessively; completely:

   deadly dull.

deadly

/ ˈdɛdlɪ /

adjective

1. likely to cause death

   deadly poison

   deadly combat

2. informal.
   extremely boring

adverb

1. like death in appearance or certainty

   deadly pale

   a deadly sleep

Derived Forms

• ˈdeadliness, noun

Other Words From

• deadli·ness noun
• non·deadly adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of deadly¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English deedli(ch), Old English dēadlīce; dead, -ly

Synonym Study

See fatal.

Example Sentences

Newspapers are back to using words like toxic, deadly and poisonous in their main headlines.

From BBC

On the other side of the religious divide, pace bowler Mahmood found himself facing a deadly mob on a train.

From BBC

The deadly storm has left many areas in the Southeast US struggling to recover.

From NewsForKids.net

Prof Damian Bailey says "the evidence clearly suggests that cold is more deadly than the heat"

From BBC

Having mixed feelings about going home isn’t all she shares with Kate, a weather expert returning to her native state — specifically to a notorious area nicknamed “Tornado Alley” for the frequency of those deadly events.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• bloody
• carcinogenic
• cruel
• dangerous
• destructive
• fatal
• harmful
• lethal
• malignant
• mortal
• murderous
• noxious
• pernicious
• poisonous
• savage
• suicidal
• toxic
• violent
• virulent