See Also: lethal(dictionary)
Lethal(medicine)
lethal(dictionary)
lethal dose 50(medicine)
lethal dwarfism(medicine)
lethal equivalent(medicine)
lethal factor(medicine)
lethal gene(medicine)
lethal mutation(medicine)
Lethal acrodermatitis(health)

lethal (iou)



lethal adjective & noun. L16.
[Latin lethalis, from lethum var. of letum death, by assoc. with Greek lethe: see LETHE, -AL1.]
A. adjective.
Theology. Causing or resulting in spiritual death; entailing damnation. Formerly esp. of sin: mortal. L16.
Causing or capable of causing death, deadly; resulting in death. E17.
A. G. Gardiner I struck a swift, lethal blow with my right hand.
b. Genetics. Of an allele or chromosomal abnormality (such as a deletion): resulting in the death of an individual possessing it before the normal span or before sexual maturity; capable of causing such premature death when homozygous. E20.
Of or pertaining to death. E17.
fig. Harmful, injurious; destructive, devastating. Also, (of a shot in football etc.) very accurate. M19.
V. Brome An aching headthe result of one particularly lethal champagne party.
Special collocations: lethal chamber: in which to kill people or animals by means of a toxic gas. lethal dose the amount of a toxic substance that causes death in people or animals. lethal injection: administered for the purposes of euthanasia or as a means of capital punishment.
b. noun. Genetics. A lethal allele or chromosomal abnormality. E20.
lethally adverb M17.