Meaning & use
mortal
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Meanings
adjectivenot comparable
Certain to die at some point, as every living creature is.
Grammar: Often used with be: we are all mortal.
Patterns
- be mortal
- mortal beings
The old king realized that he, too, was mortal.
Humans are mortal, but their ideas can outlive them.
The myth tells of a goddess who loved a mortal man.
adjectivebefore a noun
Causing death, or involving a fight to the death.
Grammar: Used before a noun: a mortal wound, a mortal enemy.
Patterns
- mortal danger
- mortal wound
- mortal enemy
The soldier suffered a mortal wound in the battle.
The two rival companies became mortal enemies.
The climbers were in mortal danger when the storm hit.
adjectivebefore a nounliterary
Very great or extreme, used especially to describe fear or terror.
Grammar: Intensifies a feeling: mortal fear.
Patterns
- mortal fear
- mortal terror
She lived in mortal fear of being found out.
He had a mortal dread of speaking in public.
The child stood frozen in mortal terror.
nouncountablehumorous
A human being, seen as different from gods or immortal beings.
Grammar: Often used humorously: us mere mortals.
Patterns
- a mere mortal
- ordinary mortals
The hero was strong, but he was still only a mortal.
Ordinary mortals like us need sleep.
The gods looked down on the mortals below.
Word forms
| plural | mortals |
|---|
Common combinations
- mortal danger
- The hikers were in mortal danger on the exposed ridge.
- mortal enemy
- Cats and dogs are not always mortal enemies.
- mortal wound
- The knight received a mortal wound.
- mortal remains
- The family gathered to bury his mortal remains.
- mere mortals
- Such feats are impossible for mere mortals.
Synonyms and how they differ
- deadly
- Deadly describes something that can kill, but it is not used to say a being must die someday.
- fatal
- Fatal describes something that actually causes death, such as an injury, whereas mortal can also mean living things are subject to death.
- human
- Human names the species, while mortal as a noun stresses the fact of being subject to death.
Opposites
Word family
- mortality noun
- the condition of being subject to death, or the death rate
- mortally adverb
- in a way that causes death, or extremely
- immortal adjective
- living forever
- immortality noun
- the ability to live forever
Commonly confused: mortal or moral?
mortal vs moral
Moral relates to right and wrong, while mortal relates to death; the words sound alike in some accents but are spelled and used differently.
Practice
The king feared that, like every other man, he was only ______ and would die someday.
Choose one answer.
Mortal means subject to death. Fatal describes something that causes death, and moral and morale belong to other topics.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “mortal”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.