Meaning & use

deadly

adjective·Everyday

Capable of causing death, or extremely dangerous or harmful.

See it in a sentence

The snake's venom is deadly enough to kill an adult within hours.

Texting while driving is a deadly habit that causes thousands of crashes each year.

A note on using this word

Deadly is also used informally as an intensifier meaning extremely, as in deadly serious or deadly boring.

Words with a similar meaning

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Words with an opposite meaning

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