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Synonyms

deadly

American  
[ded-lee] / ˈdɛd li /

adjective

deadlier, deadliest

  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 British  
/ ˈdɛdlɪ /

adjective

  1. likely to cause death

    deadly poison

    deadly combat

  2. informal extremely boring

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

adverb

  1. like death in appearance or certainty

    deadly pale

    a deadly sleep
"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Related Words

See fatal.

Other Word Forms

  • deadliness noun
  • nondeadly adjective

Etymology

Origin of deadly

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

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.