deadly
//ˈdɛdli//
Forms
- Comparative
- deadlier
- Superlative
- deadliest
- Comparative
- more deadly
- Superlative
- most deadly
Definitions
1.Causing death; lethal.
- The killing of more than 90 journalists in Iraq in 43 months after the invasion was to mark it out as one of the deadliest conflicts to cover.
2.Aiming or willing to destroy; implacable; desperately hostile.
3.Very accurate (of aiming with a bow, firearm, etc.).
- Was that really her mom grabbing a large Nerf gun from some sort of side holster and aiming it straight at Camden's head? Yes, it was. And the woman was blessed with deadly accuracy.
- Slaves have been freed, religious tests revoked, Bread tax abolished, and free trade secured, Reform twice carried, franchise much enlarged, With deadly aim to crush foul bribery, And promise given of yet better things.
- For him the gibbet shall be built; For him the stake prepared: Him shall the scorn and wrath of men Pursue with deadly aim ; And malice, envy, spite and lies, Shall desecrate his name.
4.Very boring.(informal)
- Now, at school, I was forced to sit in classes, to take notes and exams, to use textbooks that were flat, impersonal, deadly.
- Students, of course, know the difference between a deadly lecture and a stimulating one. An excellent lecturer who maintains a high level of interaction with the audience stimulates thinking and learning.
1.In a way which suggests death.
- Her face suddenly became deadly white.
2.Extremely, incredibly.
Frequency
Overall
Uncommon· #3647
By learning goal
- Everyday conversation
- Rare
- General reading & writing
- Uncommon
- Academic
- Rare
- Literature
- Rare
Related words
Word family
Etymology
From Middle English dedly, dedlych, dedlich, from Old English dēadlīċ (adjective), from Proto-West Germanic *dauþalīk, from Proto-Germanic *dauþalīkaz (“deadly”, literally “deathly”). By surface analysis, dead + -ly. Cognate with Saterland Frisian dodelk (“deadly”), West Frisian deadlik (“deadly”), Dutch dodelijk (“deadly”), German tödlich (“deadly”), Swedish dödlig (“deadly, fatal, mortal”), Icelandic dauðlegur (“mortal”).