lethal - Definitions from Dictionary.com

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Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

le·thal

Audio Help [lee-thuh

l] Pronunciation Key

–adjective

1.	of, pertaining to, or causing death; deadly; fatal: a lethal weapon; a lethal dose.

2.	made to cause death: a lethal chamber; a lethal attack.

3.	causing great harm or destruction: The disclosures were lethal to his candidacy.

[Origin: 1575–85; < L létālis, equiv. to lét(um) death + -ālis -al¹; sp. (hence pron.) with -h- by assoc. with Gk lthé oblivion

]

—Related forms

le·thal·i·ty, le·thal·ness, noun

le·thal·ly, adverb

—Synonyms 1. See fatal.

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
lethal

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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

le·thal Audio Help (lē'thəl) Pronunciation Key
adj.

Capable of causing death.
Of, relating to, or causing death. See Synonyms at fatal.
Extremely harmful; devastating: accusations lethal to the candidate's image.

[Late Latin lēthālis, alteration (probably influenced by Lēthē, Lethe) of Latin lētālis, from lētum, death.]

le·thal'i·ty (lē-thāl'ĭ-tē) n., le'thal·ly adv.

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
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Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
lethal

1583, from L.L. lethalis, from L. letalis "deadly, fatal," from letum "death," of uncertain origin. Form altered in L.L. by association with lethe hydor, "water of oblivion" in Hades in Gk. mythology, from Gk. lethe "forgetfulness."

WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

lethal
adjective
of an instrument of certain death; "deadly poisons"; "lethal weapon"; "a lethal injection" [syn: deadly]

Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
lethal [ˈliːθəl] adjective

causing death; enough to kill
Example: a lethal dose of poison

Arabic:	مُميت، قاتِل
Chinese (Simplified):	致死的
Chinese (Traditional):	致死的
Czech:	smrtelný
Danish:	dødelig
Dutch:	dodelijk
Estonian:	surmav
Finnish:	kuolettava
French:	mortel
German:	tödlich
Greek:	θανατηφόρος
Hungarian:	halálos
Icelandic:	banvænn
Indonesian:	mematikan
Italian:	letale

Japanese:	致死の
Korean:	치명적인
Latvian:	letāls, nāvējošs
Lithuanian:	mirtinas
Norwegian:	dødelig, dødbringende
Polish:	śmiertelny
Portuguese (Brazil):	mortal
Portuguese (Portugal):	mortal
Romanian:	letal, mortal
Russian:	смертельный
Slovak:	smrteľný
Slovenian:	smrtonosen
Spanish:	mortal, letal
Swedish:	dödlig, dödande
Turkish:	öldürücü

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Lethal

Leth"al\ (l[e^]th"[a^]l), n. [Lauric + ether + alcohol.] (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.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Lethal

Le"thal\ (l[=e]"thal), a. [L. lethalis, letalis, fr. lethum, letum, death: cf. F. l['e]thal.] Deadly; mortal; fatal. "The lethal blow." --W. Richardson. -- Le"thal*ly, adv.

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