Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- adj. Capable of causing death.
- adj. Of, relating to, or causing death. See Synonyms at fatal.
- adj. Extremely harmful; devastating: accusations lethal to the candidate's image.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- Pertaining to or capable of causing death; deadly; fatal.
Wiktionary
- adj. deadly; mortal; fatal
- n. chemistry One of the higher alcohols of the paraffine series obtained from spermaceti as a white crystalline solid.
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. (Chem.) One of the higher alcohols of the paraffine series obtained from spermaceti as a white crystalline solid. It is so called because it occurs in the ethereal salt of lauric acid.
- adj. Deadly; mortal; fatal.
WordNet 3.0
- adj. of an instrument of certain death
Etymologies
- Abbreviation of “lauric acid ethereal salt”, so called because it occurs in the ethereal salt of lauric acid. (Wiktionary)
- Late Latin lēthālis, alteration (probably influenced by Lēthē, Lethe) of Latin lētālis, from lētum, death. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“In 1934, Stauder coined the term lethal catatonia to characterize an acute, intense excitement state, combining features of mania and delirium, that was associated with fever often high and catatonic signs.”
Simon & Schuster: The Neuropsychiatric Guide to Modern Everyday Psychiatry
“When the legislation was considered by parliament, ministers made clear there could be circumstances in which it could be used to authorise what they described as "lethal force".”
The Guardian: Libyan dissidents sue MI6 officer over abduction and torture claims
“And then just before midnight they'll make calls, one more time, to the governor's office and then also to the courts to make sure that nothing has changed and at that point the warden will give the order to give him what they call a lethal cocktail and then the execution will be taking place.”
“Barak told Israel Radio he didn't expect the International Atomic Energy Agency report to persuade Russia and China to impose what he called "lethal" sanctions on Iran to pressure Tehran to dismantle its nuclear installations.”
“Mr. Barak told Israel Radio he didn't expect the International Atomic Energy Agency report to persuade Russia and China to impose what he called "lethal" sanctions on Iran to pressure Tehran to dismantle its nuclear installations.”
“Dec 11, 2008 | not rated yet | no comments yet (PhysOrg. com) -- In a new tactic in the fight against cancer, Cornell researcher Michael King has developed what he calls a lethal "lint brush" for the blood -- a tiny, implantable device that captures and”
“The court has for now cleared the way for states to obtain lethal injection drugs from foreign sources.”
“Hospira spokesman Dan Rosenberg said the company couldn't control how physicians used the drug, adding that many drugs could be used in lethal-injection procedures, "most of which … are intended by their producers for other uses.”
The Wall Street Journal: Spotlight on Injection Drug as Judge Stays Execution
“If you practice and have a good rest and good judgement, this gun/round is lethal from a long long way out.”
“Concentration camp prisoners were used in lethal experiments because they were seen as doomed to die anyway, were seen as racial inferiors, and, given the conditions of total war that prevailed, they were considered completely expendable in the service of the national security of the Third Reich.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘lethal’.
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GRE Barrons Wordlist
A complete Barron's Wordlist for GRE preparation. Your online flashcard replacement.
abase, abash, abate, abbreviate, abdicate, aberrant, aberration, abet, abeyance, abhor, abject, abjure and 4087 more...
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1100
abound, technology, branch of knowled..., prognosticate, automaton, matron, an older married ..., realm, special field of ..., kingdom, annals, historical records and 981 more...
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GRE 2014
abase, abate, abdicate, aberrant, abeyance, abhor, abjure, abortive, abound, abrasive, abreast, abridge and 1577 more...
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10
aquatic, assert, avert, bleak, blithe, docile, dwindle, lethal, monitor, mutilate, nimble, plight and 3 more...
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List 2(starting at 260)
mammoth, overt, valor, aspire, relegate, bias, incisive, scurry, precipitate, singular, inveigh, repulse and 48 more...
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Lesson 10
aquatic, assert, avert, bleak, blithe, docile, dwindle, lethal, monitor, mutilate, nimble, plight and 3 more...
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1100 words you need to know
GRE words
voracious, indiscriminate, eminent, steeped, replete, abound, technology, prognosticate, automaton, matron, paradox, realm and 288 more...
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ChortleGiggleSnort
Significant Words- Guiding you on your path to Snazzibility
flimsy, feeble, ranting, ramble, narky, snazzy, yoghurt, bulbous, pustule, globulous, geranium, megalomaniac and 521 more...
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Vampire Words
Words that make me think of Vampire: The Requiem
torpor, torpid, amaranth, vitae, embrace, ventrue, toreador, masquerade, dominate, nightmare, majesty, dread and 103 more...
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africasunsets's list
serendipity, fragrance, glamour, smitten, nourish, lavish, luxury, wicked, gem, daring, soothe, fantasy and 192 more...
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Revised GRE Wordlist_2013
Vocabulary building for my quest of GRE 2013
ephemeral, esoteric, rhetoric, censure, egregious, pittance, dupe, mulct, paucity, alacrity, maintain, laconic and 1008 more...
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Misc. Words.
Words I like to use, words I like but may forget.
corrosion, astonish, solace, ferment, continuum, kinesthetic, permeate, repose, caprice, cardinal, discourse, surrender and 610 more...
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effleurer's Words
languor, nincompoop, masquerade, envelop, deceit, guttersnipe, undulating, ululation, ridiculous, insufferable, loverly, eternity and 89 more...
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just words.
coquette, solecism, peripherally, recrudescence, viscid, turpitude, sententious, light-heeled, interminably, unflappable, palpably, solicitous and 215 more...
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stpeter's Words
abase, abasement, abashed, abdicate, aberrant, abeyance, abhor, abhorrent, abide, abject, ablation, abnegation and 3536 more...
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✖ LOCUTIONS
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lambda, coital, HUGO, fuggedaboutit, altrap, Hieroglyphics, Synergy, incarceration, Ethos, Devadasi, distraught, Patrician and 254 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for lethal.
vanishedone Apparently this has been used as a verb meaning 'kill (animals) painlessly': the O.E.D. quotes newspapers from the Twenties talking about e.g. 'proper lethalling establishments where cats can be put to sleep free of charge'. It seems odd to me to use a word like that and then employ a euphemism a moment later. Apr 27, 2009