deadly

(redirected from deadlier)
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dead·ly

(dĕd′lē)

adj. dead·li·er, dead·li·est

1. Causing or tending to cause death: deadly weapons; a deadly spill of radioactive waste products. See Synonyms at fatal.

2. Suggestive of death: a deadly pallor.

3. Aiming or wanting to kill; implacable: deadly enemies.

a. Destructive in effect: gave the film a deadly review.

b. Tending to take away vitality, effectiveness, or force: the deadly habit of procrastination.

5. Absolute; utter: deadly concentration.

6. Extreme or terrible: worked under deadly strain.

7. Extremely accurate; unerring: She is a deadly shot with the bow.

8. Dull, tedious, and boring: a deadly prose style.

adv.

1. So as to suggest death.

2. To an extreme: deadly serious.

dead′li·ness n.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

deadly

(ˈdɛdlɪ)

adj, -lier or -liest

1. likely to cause death: deadly poison; deadly combat.

2. informal extremely boring

adv, adj

like death in appearance or certainty: deadly pale; a deadly sleep.

ˈdeadliness n

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

dead•ly

(ˈdɛd li)

adj. -li•er, -li•est,
adv. adj.

1. causing or tending to cause death; lethal.

2. aiming to kill or destroy; implacable: a deadly enemy.

3. like death.

4. excruciatingly boring.

5. excessive; inordinate: deadly haste.

6. extremely accurate: a deadly shot.

adv.

7. in a manner suggesting death: deadly pale.

8. completely: deadly dull.

[before 900]

dead′li•ness, n.

syn: See fatal.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Switch to new thesaurus

Adj.	1.	deadly - causing or capable of causing death; "a fatal accident"; "a deadly enemy"; "mortal combat"; "a mortal illness" deathly, mortal fatal - bringing death
	2.	deadly - of an instrument of certain death; "deadly poisons"; "lethal weapon"; "a lethal injection" lethal fatal - bringing death
	3.	deadly - extremely poisonous or injurious; producing venom; "venomous snakes"; "a virulent insect bite" venomous, virulent toxic - of or relating to or caused by a toxin or poison; "suffering from exposure to toxic substances"
	4.	deadly - involving loss of divine grace or spiritual death; "the seven deadly sins" mortal theology, divinity - the rational and systematic study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truth unpardonable - not admitting of pardon; "unpardonable behavior"
	5.	deadly - exceedingly harmful baneful, pernicious, pestilent noxious - injurious to physical or mental health; "noxious chemical wastes"; "noxious ideas"
	6.	deadly - (of a disease) having a rapid course and violent effect virulent - infectious; having the ability to cause disease
Adv.	1.	deadly - as if dead lifelessly
	2.	deadly - (used as intensives) extremely; "she was madly in love"; "deadly dull"; "deadly earnest"; "deucedly clever"; "insanely jealous" deucedly, insanely, madly, devilishly intensifier, intensive - a modifier that has little meaning except to intensify the meaning it modifies; "`up' in `finished up' is an intensifier"; "`honestly' in `I honestly don't know' is an intensifier"

deadly

adjective

1. lethal, fatal, deathly, dangerous, devastating, destructive, mortal, murderous, poisonous, malignant, virulent, pernicious, noxious, venomous, baleful, death-dealing, baneful a deadly disease currently affecting dolphins

2. hard, fierce, harsh, cruel, savage, brutal, grim, stern, ruthless, ferocious, unrelenting, merciless, implacable, barbarous, pitiless, unfeeling, unmerciful, unpitying She levelled a deadly look at him.

3. (Informal) boring, dull, tedious, flat, monotonous, uninteresting, mind-numbing, unexciting, ho-hum (informal), wearisome, as dry as dust She found the party deadly.

4. arch (usually used of enemies or rivals) savage, mortal, hardline, uncompromising, inflexible, inexorable, implacable, irreconcilable, intransigent, unappeasable The two became deadly enemies.

5. accurate, sure, true, effective, exact, reliable, precise, on target, infallible, unerring, unfailing the fastest and most deadly bowlers in the world today

6. deathly, white, pale, ghostly, ghastly, wan, pasty, colourless, pallid, anaemic, ashen, sallow, whitish, cadaverous, waxen, ashy, deathlike, wheyfaced The deadly pallor of her skin.

7. complete, total, perfect, absolute, utter, outright, thorough, consummate, dyed-in-the-wool, thoroughgoing, deep-dyed (usually derogatory) He talked about his job with deadly earnestness.

adverb

1. completely, quite, totally, perfectly, fully, entirely, absolutely, altogether, thoroughly, wholly, utterly, every inch, a hundred per cent, one hundred per cent The threat was deadly serious.

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

deadly

adjective

1. Causing or tending to cause death:

deathly, fatal, lethal, mortal, vital.

2. Gruesomely suggestive of ghosts or death:

cadaverous, deathlike, deathly, ghastly, ghostlike, ghostly, spectral.

3. Extremely destructive or harmful:

baneful, malignant, noxious, pernicious, pestilent, pestilential, virulent.

Translations

Spanish / Español

Select a language:

absoluto aburridísimo completamente mortal mortífero

deadly

[ˈdedlɪ]

A. ADJ (deadlier (compar) (deadliest (superl)))

1. (= lethal) [poison, disease, combination] → mortal; [weapon, attack] → mortífero
he has a deadly aim with a rifle → tiene una puntería infalible con el rifle
to use deadly force (against sb) (Police, Mil) → abrir fuego (contra algn)

2. (= devastating)
with deadly accuracy (Sport etc) → con precisión mortífera (Mil etc) → con precisión letal or mortal
he was in deadly earnest → iba muy en serio
to be deadly enemies → ser enemigos mortales, ser enemigos a muerte
she argued with deadly logic → argumentaba con una lógica aplastante
she levelled a deadly look at Nick → le lanzó una mirada asesina a Nick
there was deadly silence → se hizo un silencio sepulcral
see also seven A

3. (= very boring) → aburridísimo

B. ADV
it was deadly cold → hacía un frío de muerte
the trip was deadly dull → el viaje fue un aburrimiento de muerte, el viaje fue aburridísimo
she was deadly pale → estaba pálida como un cadáver, tenía una palidez cadavérica (liter)
she thought he was joking but he was deadly serious → ella pensaba que bromeaba, pero lo decía completamente en serio

C. CPD deadly nightshade N → belladona f

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

dead

(ded) adjective

1. without life; not living. a dead body; Throw out those dead flowers.muerto

2. not working and not giving any sign of being about to work. The phone/engine is dead.desconectado, cortado

3. absolute or complete. There was dead silence at his words; He came to a dead stop.total, completo

adverb

completely. dead drunk.completamente

ˈdeaden verb

to lessen, weaken or make less sharp, strong etc. That will deaden the pain.amortiguar

ˈdeadly adjective

1. causing death. a deadly poison.mortal

2. very great. He is in deadly earnest (= He is completely serious).absolutamente

3. very dull or uninteresting. What a deadly job this is.aburridísimo

adverb

extremely. deadly dull; deadly serious.terriblemente

dead end

a road closed off at one end. callejón sin salida

ˈdead-end adjective

leading nowhere. a dead-end job. sin salida

dead heat

a race, or a situation happening in a race, in which two or more competitors cross the finishing line together. empate

dead language

a language no longer spoken, eg Latin. lengua muerta

ˈdeadline noun

a time by which something must be done or finished. Monday is the deadline for handing in this essay.fecha límite

ˈdeadlock noun

a situation in which no further progress towards an agreement is possible. Talks between the two sides ended in deadlock.punto muerto, impasse

to set a deadline (not dateline) for finishing a job.

deadly

a. mortífero-a; mortal, que puede causar la muerte;

___ poison → veneno ___;

___ wound → herida ___.

deadly

adj mortal

References in classic literature ?

She assumed a freedom of speculation, then common enough on the other side of the Atlantic, but which our forefathers, had they known it, would have held to be a deadlier crime than that stigmatised by the scarlet letter.

It was impossible to doubt that, whatever painful efficacy there might be in the secret sting of remorse, a deadlier venom had been infused into it by the hand that proffered relief.

View in context

He became quicker of movement than the other dogs, swifter of foot, craftier, deadlier, more lithe, more lean with ironlike muscle and sinew, more enduring, more cruel, more ferocious, and more intelligent.

View in context

Ferrara's temper, pliant as a snake, And deadlier, I doubt not.

View in context

But what if, by some fate or deadlier chance, eyes other than his spied behind and saw the horrible change?

View in context

Yet all the same, they were soon destined to take far deadlier possession of my mind.

View in context

Here was deadly insult on deadlier injury - and the Sahib to whom he had so craftily given that war-waking letter heard it all.

View in context

Dream not of thir fight, As of a Duel, or the local wounds Of head or heel: not therefore joynes the Son Manhood to God-head, with more strength to foil Thy enemie; nor so is overcome SATAN, whose fall from Heav'n, a deadlier bruise, Disabl'd not to give thee thy deaths wound: Which hee, who comes thy Saviour, shall recure, Not by destroying SATAN, but his works In thee and in thy Seed: nor can this be, But by fulfilling that which thou didst want, Obedience to the Law of God, impos'd On penaltie of death, and suffering death, The penaltie to thy transgression due, And due to theirs which out of thine will grow: So onely can high Justice rest appaid.

View in context

When, in his walk through the garden, he came to the magnificent plant that hung its purple gems beside the marble fountain, he placed a kind of mask over his mouth and nostrils, as if all this beauty did but conceal a deadlier malice; but, finding his task still too dangerous, he drew back, removed the mask, and called loudly, but in the infirm voice of a person affected with inward disease, "Beatrice!

View in context

But mass public attacks are becoming deadlier. There were four times as many people shot in mass shootings in 2017 than the annual average of the eight years prior, according to Everytown for Gun Safety, a national gun-control group.

Gilroy Shows Why US Needs An Assault-Weapons Ban

And the England skipper (right), who turns 26 on Sunday, says he can be an even deadlier striker as he moves into the best years of his career.

GOING FOR (G)OLD

As the use of animal lipid material has badly affected the health of human and also creates numerous deadlier diseases.

DC imposes ban on use of animal lipid material

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