English Explanatory Dictionary

deadly

English dictionary entry

Meanings

adj
  1. Subject to death; mortal.
  2. Causing death; lethal.
  3. Aiming or willing to destroy; implacable; desperately hostile.
  4. Very accurate (of aiming with a bow, firearm, etc.).
  5. Very boring.
  6. Excellent, awesome, cool.
adv
  1. Fatally, mortally.
  2. In a way which suggests death.
  3. Extremely, incredibly.

Pronunciation

/ˈdɛdli/ En-us-deadly.ogg

Word forms

deadly deadlier more deadly deadliest most deadly

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”). The adverb is from Middle English dedliche, from Old English dēadlīċe (adverb), from the adjective.

Related words

dead

Derived words

deadlihood deadlily deadliness deadly amanita deadly carrot deadly diamond of death deadly embrace Deadly Never-Green deadly nightshade deadly sin nondeadly silent but deadly undeadly fail-deadly
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