mortal

1 of 3

adjective

mor·​tal ˈmȯr-tᵊl 

1

: causing or having caused death : fatal

a mortal injury

2

a

: subject to death

mortal man

Every living creature is mortal.

b

: possible, conceivable

have done every mortal thing

c

: deadly sense 3

waited three mortal hours

3

: marked by unrelenting hostility

a mortal enemy

4

: marked by great intensity or severity

mortal fear

5

: human

mortal limits

a nobody with an all too mortal longing to be a somebody

—Time

6

: of, relating to, or connected with death

mortal agony

mortal

2 of 3

adverb

chiefly dialectal

: mortally

mortal

3 of 3

noun

: a human being

Synonyms

Adjective

• baleful
• deadly
• deathly
• fatal
• fell
• killer
• lethal
• murderous
• pestilent
• terminal
• vital

Noun

• baby
• being
• bird
• bod [British]
• body
• character
• cookie
• cooky
• creature
• customer
• devil
• duck
• egg
• face
• fish
• guy
• head
• human
• human being
• individual
• life
• man
• party
• person
• personage
• scout
• slob
• sort
• soul
• specimen
• stiff
• thing
• wight

Choose the Right Synonym for mortal

deadly, mortal, fatal, lethal mean causing or capable of causing death.

deadly applies to an established or very likely cause of death.

a deadly disease

mortal implies that death has occurred or is inevitable.

a mortal wound

fatal stresses the inevitability of what has in fact resulted in death or destruction.

fatal consequences

lethal applies to something that is bound to cause death or exists for the destruction of life.

lethal gas

Examples of mortal in a Sentence

Adjective

Every living creature is mortal.

He suffered a mortal wound in the battle.

Noun

stories about gods interfering in the lives of mortals

the troubles that come to ordinary mortals

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

The crime, again, is that Harrison shot his dad in the heart, a mortal blow that, at the time, neither one of them did anything to alleviate. —Ben Travers, IndieWire, 13 Dec. 2024

The mythical scenes depict the goddess of love, Venus, with her mortal lover, Adonis, as well as Hippolytus, son of Theseus, who rejected his stepmother Phaedra’s romantic advances. —Jacqui Palumbo, CNN, 12 Dec. 2024

Noun

Gone are the story’s overt mythical elements, the gods and goddesses changing shape and toying with these mortals’ fates. —Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 6 Dec. 2024

They are not printed, as the scarves are; they are crafted by hand, by extraordinary artisans, using techniques that can easily try the patience of ordinary mortals. —Carol Besler, Robb Report, 21 Nov. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Adjective and Adverb

Middle English, from Anglo-French mortel, mortal, from Latin mortalis, from mort-, mors death — more at murder

Noun

see human entry 1

First Known Use

Adjective

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Adverb

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Noun

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing mortal

• mortal combat
• mortal enemy
• mortal foe/rival
• mortal mind
• mortal remains
• mortal sin

Kids Definition

mortal

1 of 2 adjective

mor·​tal ˈmȯrt-ᵊl 

1

: capable of causing death

a mortal wound

2

: certain to die

animals are mortal

3

: extremely unfriendly

a mortal enemy

4

: very great or severe

in mortal fear

5

: human entry 1 sense 1

mortal limitations

6

: of, relating to, or connected with death

mortal agony

mortally

-ᵊl-ē

adverb

mortal

2 of 2 noun

: a human being

Medical Definition

mortal

adjective

mor·​tal ˈmȯrt-ᵊl 

1

: having caused or being about to cause death : fatal

a mortal injury

2

: of, relating to, or connected with death

mortal agony