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

McCrimmon’s portrayal resists the Broadway myth to find mortal radiance instead. Feldstein, to her credit, was a more adept physical comedian. —Charles McNulty, Los Angeles Times, 4 Apr. 2024

Failure to do so would put innocent Americans in mortal risk. Shame on NBC. —Miles Klee, Rolling Stone, 15 Mar. 2024

This is my chance to speak to him—to inform him, with mortal authority, of the meaning of life. —Joseph O’Neill, The New Yorker, 11 Mar. 2024

But just what makes Io, named after a mortal woman in love with Zeus in Greek mythology, so fussy? —Max Bennett, Discover Magazine, 7 Mar. 2024

For reasons that are far beyond anything the mortal brain can attempt to ascertain, MJ seems both shocked and heartbroken. —Ej Dickson, Rolling Stone, 7 Mar. 2024

Passive-voice, the passive termination, the mortal mutual agreement shoved all the way to the end of the sentence. —Melvin Backman, Quartz, 4 Mar. 2024

The infant, born in February 2023 with drugs in her system, was sent home with her father over objections from at least one social worker who warned the child would be placed in mortal danger, an investigation late last year by this news organization revealed. —Scooty Nickerson, The Mercury News, 27 Feb. 2024

But a desperation to hold power, out of a mortal fear of appearing weak, is the engine. —Carolyn Hax, Washington Post, 24 Feb. 2024

Noun

Just as neat, this also happens to be the only time the Sun’s outer atmosphere is visible to the unaided eye for us mere mortals on Earth. —Justine Calma, The Verge, 8 Apr. 2024

Within the rules of the Wizards of Waverly Place world, it is stated that a wizard must give up their powers to marry a non-magical mortal, which explains why Justin would have no powers. —Skyler Trepel, Peoplemag, 24 Mar. 2024

Lucky for us mere mortals, the stunning panorama can also be enjoyed at a price of a cocktail at the Rooftop Bar 1838. —Kissa Castañeda, Forbes, 22 Feb. 2024

Now, if Swift were a commercial-flying mortal, making it to Las Vegas by kickoff at 3:30 p.m. PT Sunday would be a considerably bigger challenge. —David K. Li, NBC News, 30 Jan. 2024

Nurkic defended him without fouling and the Lakers were horrid from 3, but this is what frustrates us mere mortals about Davis. —Duane Rankin, The Arizona Republic, 12 Jan. 2024

Lopez is also given advice by a group of friends, ordinary, run-of-the-mill mortals who show up from time to time. —Tom Gliatto, Peoplemag, 16 Feb. 2024

By comparison with the immortal gods, even the loftiest mortals are losers in the long run (as Achilles realizes in Hades). —Robert Pogue Harrison, The New York Review of Books, 15 Feb. 2024

Patrick Mahomes How dare these mere mortals challenge him with their primitive skills.. —Kevin Cusick, Twin Cities, 12 Feb. 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