lethal-, -lethal, -lethally; lethi-, letho-, leth-

A reference to anything that exceeds the minimum required for a fatal result which is capable of causing death: It is possible to have a hyperlethal result from a dosage of a drug or other dangerous agents.

1. Pertaining to anything that is certain to, or intended to, cause death: Any weapon which can cause the loss of life; such as, a dagger or a gun is a lethal weapon.

It is very dangerous to leave lethal weapons where children can get them because such devices can cause serious injuries or even fatalities.

There are lethal spiders that can kill their victims with poison.

2. Descriptive of something that is harmful or causes disaster or destruction: The senator made a lethal statement that is certain to bring his political career to an end.

Ethan made a lethal swipe at a fly with his insect swatter.

There was lethal gas which was leaking from a storage tank in the chemical plant that killed some of the workers or made them very ill.

3. Etymology: from Latin lethalis, "deadly"; from lethum, "death".

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An enclosed area in which animals can be painlessly put to death with gas: Sometimes cities have an over abundance of stray dogs and cats and no place to keep them; so, lethal chambers are utilized to decrease their numbers.

Some places have used lethal chambers as a method of executing convicted inmates with hydrogen cyanide gas.

The amount of a toxic or poisonous substance that will cause a person to lose his or her life: The doctor said that Shelby's friend had died from a lethal dose of heroin which had been acquired from a street dealer.

Charlotte was warned by her doctor that there is such a thing as a lethal dose if she were to take too many sleeping pills.

The forceful insertion of a substance into a body: A lethal injection might be administered in order to perform euthanasia or a painless death for an individual who is suffering from a terminal illness or an incurable condition.

Another reason for using a lethal injection is to complete a process of execution for capital punishment when someone has been sentenced by a court of law with a death penalty.

A physical change that destroys an organism during any stage of its development before reproduction or birth is completed: Sometimes a primary cause of death from a lethal mutation is easy to identify; such as, certain blood abnormalities.

There are some stillborn fetuses that do not survive their prenatal development because of some kind of lethal mutation.

A situation that results in the abolition of lives or causes great injuries and wreckage: Sometimes there are lethalities for boat loads of people who are fleeing the terrible living conditions of their countries as they seek refuge in other places; such as, Europe.

Descriptive of being very harmful or ending life: An official was reporting how lethally destructive the Amtrack train crash was with at least 6 dead and 146 hospitalized.

Serious threats to lives or causing great harm and destruction: Another severe earthquake in Nepal increased the lethalness for the people and their environments.

Relating to anything that produces death or violent destruction: There are lethiferous floods, lethiferous earthquakes, lethiferous diseases, etc.; all of which, can be life threatening, ruinous, and devastating.
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Go to this Word A Day Revisited Index
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A morbid or an abnormal longing for life-threatening narcotic drugs: Norman's brother was suffering from lethomania and, despite medical and psychological treatments, he could not overcome his obsessions or compulsive desires, to ingest drugs to ease his suffering.

Relating to something that will not destroy the living: Nonlethal is usually about law enforcement control in which non-lethal force, also called less-than-lethal or less-lethal force, is intended to cause no significant bodily injury to human targets.

Referring to the very harmful effects of light: Can lightening be considered a photolethal form of light?

1. Fatal or causing death in more than 50 percent, but fewer than 100 percent of cases: The doctors were cautious regarding the new disease that was spreading around, considering it a semilethal illness, not consistently fatal but still highly dangerous.
2. A mutation that produces more than 50 percent of mortality but not everyone: A change that was caused in the genetic make up of the monkeys at the zoo was considered semilethal; therefore, the researchers believed only about half of the species would survive.

Characteristic of being almost fatal but not necessarily enough to cause the termination of life: There are some sublethal doses of certain poisons that may cause severe illness instead of causing a person to die.