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
Time6
: of, relating to, or connected with death
mortal agony
: a human being
Synonyms
Adjective
Noun
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 WebAngie Han, The Hollywood Reporter, 21 Nov. 2023
Starting with the French revolution and ending with Monsieur Bonaparte’s no-bang-all-whimper exit from this mortal coil, the director’s sweeping, swaggering, occasionally stumbling history lesson is nothing more than an attempt to conjure up the road-show movie magic of yesteryear.
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 21 Nov. 2023
The mythology of Psyche, a mortal woman released from death by the god Zeus, who gave her immortality inspired the meaning.
—Elizabeth Gamillo, Discover Magazine, 31 Oct. 2023
But the poems’ mortal women are subject to the dictates of their husbands and fathers, and even, like Penelope, of their barely postadolescent sons.
—Judith Thurman, The New Yorker, 11 Sep. 2023
In Washington, two political parties that agree on almost nothing are united in their depictions of China as a geopolitical rival and a mortal threat to middle-class security.
—Peter S. Goodman, New York Times, 14 Nov. 2023
As a scientific enterprise, mortal A.I. might bring us closer to replicating our own brains.
—Joshua Rothman, The New Yorker, 13 Nov. 2023
But another part of me couldn’t stop obsessing about the beef, which is my own apple from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, whose mortal taste is sure to lead to all our woe.
—Tim Carman, Washington Post, 13 Nov. 2023
For Niki’s family, daylight is synonymous with mortal danger, and the boy is not allowed to leave the station premises, living under the constant glow of their neon lights.
—Christopher Vourlias, Variety, 18 Oct. 2023
Rich Blake, Forbes, 28 Nov. 2023
Welcome, foolish mortals, to a fresh yet familiar tale that'll briefly distract you from Barbenheimer: Disney's new movie Haunted Mansion.
—Kelly Allen, House Beautiful, 28 July 2023
The answer, at least for us mere mortals, is no, and that’s likely for the better.
—Carlos Aguilar, Los Angeles Times, 20 Oct. 2023
Like so many mere mortals in the 1990s, my friends and I were on a (one-sided) first-name basis with supermodels Christy, Cindy, Linda, and Naomi.
—Dina Gachman, Glamour, 27 Sep. 2023
Warp drive, of course, is the stuff of Star Trek legend, a device enclosed within a spacecraft that gives the mortals aboard the ability to rip around the cosmos at superhuman speed.
—Eric Adams, Popular Mechanics, 15 Aug. 2023
Many of the designers similarly looked at mortals rather than angels for inspiration.
—Frances Solá-Santiago, refinery29.com, 28 Sep. 2023
In a neat little neighborhood in Venice, Calif., there’s a block of squat, similar homes, filled with mortals spending their finite days on the planet eating pizza with friends, blowing out candles on birthday cakes, and binging late-night television.
—Time, 20 Sep. 2023
Lori needs to pay for her action according to the laws of mortals.
—Itzel Luna, USA TODAY, 31 July 2023
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Adjective
Those mortal stakes pushed them into impossible choices that revealed the very best and worst parts of their souls, and by extension of humanity itself.
—Angie Han, The Hollywood Reporter, 21 Nov. 2023
Starting with the French revolution and ending with Monsieur Bonaparte’s no-bang-all-whimper exit from this mortal coil, the director’s sweeping, swaggering, occasionally stumbling history lesson is nothing more than an attempt to conjure up the road-show movie magic of yesteryear.
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 21 Nov. 2023
The mythology of Psyche, a mortal woman released from death by the god Zeus, who gave her immortality inspired the meaning.
—Elizabeth Gamillo, Discover Magazine, 31 Oct. 2023
But the poems’ mortal women are subject to the dictates of their husbands and fathers, and even, like Penelope, of their barely postadolescent sons.
—Judith Thurman, The New Yorker, 11 Sep. 2023
In Washington, two political parties that agree on almost nothing are united in their depictions of China as a geopolitical rival and a mortal threat to middle-class security.
—Peter S. Goodman, New York Times, 14 Nov. 2023
As a scientific enterprise, mortal A.I. might bring us closer to replicating our own brains.
—Joshua Rothman, The New Yorker, 13 Nov. 2023
But another part of me couldn’t stop obsessing about the beef, which is my own apple from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, whose mortal taste is sure to lead to all our woe.
—Tim Carman, Washington Post, 13 Nov. 2023
For Niki’s family, daylight is synonymous with mortal danger, and the boy is not allowed to leave the station premises, living under the constant glow of their neon lights.
—Christopher Vourlias, Variety, 18 Oct. 2023
Noun
But can mere mortals really compete with industrial machines that keep getting better, faster and more adaptive?
—Rich Blake, Forbes, 28 Nov. 2023
Welcome, foolish mortals, to a fresh yet familiar tale that'll briefly distract you from Barbenheimer: Disney's new movie Haunted Mansion.
—Kelly Allen, House Beautiful, 28 July 2023
The answer, at least for us mere mortals, is no, and that’s likely for the better.
—Carlos Aguilar, Los Angeles Times, 20 Oct. 2023
Like so many mere mortals in the 1990s, my friends and I were on a (one-sided) first-name basis with supermodels Christy, Cindy, Linda, and Naomi.
—Dina Gachman, Glamour, 27 Sep. 2023
Warp drive, of course, is the stuff of Star Trek legend, a device enclosed within a spacecraft that gives the mortals aboard the ability to rip around the cosmos at superhuman speed.
—Eric Adams, Popular Mechanics, 15 Aug. 2023
Many of the designers similarly looked at mortals rather than angels for inspiration.
—Frances Solá-Santiago, refinery29.com, 28 Sep. 2023
In a neat little neighborhood in Venice, Calif., there’s a block of squat, similar homes, filled with mortals spending their finite days on the planet eating pizza with friends, blowing out candles on birthday cakes, and binging late-night television.
—Time, 20 Sep. 2023
Lori needs to pay for her action according to the laws of mortals.
—Itzel Luna, USA TODAY, 31 July 2023
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These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'mortal.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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
Time Traveler
The first known use of mortal was
in the 14th century
Phrases Containing mortal
Dictionary Entries Near mortal
Cite this Entry
“Mortal.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mortal. Accessed 11 Dec. 2023.
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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
adverb
-ᵊl-ē
mortal
2 of 2 noun
: a human being
More from Merriam-Webster on mortal
Nglish: Translation of mortal for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of mortal for Arabic Speakers
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