mortal

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adjective mor·tal \ ˈmȯr-tᵊl \

Definition of mortal

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 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

See mortal defined for English-language learners

See mortal defined for kids

Examples of mortal in a Sentence

Every living creature is mortal.
He suffered a mortal wound in the battle.

Recent Examples of mortal from the Web

Mortal Kombat, which was again much gorier, never left shelves.

— daniel starkey, Ars Technica, "Accidental history—remastering the campy teen horror game Congress famously hated," 20 Aug. 2017
Mattis chose a path in life that has brought him repeatedly into mortal combat with the most barbaric evil of our time, Islamist terrorism.

— jim proser, National Review, "James Mattis: No Better Friend, No Worse Enemy," 15 Aug. 2017
Of course, no mere mortal’s hair can withstand that much bleaching, dyeing, and styling, so Kylie has been open about her reliance on wigs and extensions to create her ever-changing looks.

— leeann duggan, Allure, "Every Hairstyle Kylie Jenner Had in 2017 So Far," 10 Aug. 2017
Lowered into an eternal tomb just a few hundred feet from their mortal cage, for some Alabama prisoners, a life sentence does not end upon death.

— connor sheets, AL.com, "Death behind bars: Buried in Alabama's prison cemeteries, life sentences last beyond death," 6 Aug. 2017
Getty Ever since morphing from a mere mortal into Prince Harry's girlfriend, Meghan Markle has kept an extremely low profile.

— mehera bonner, Marie Claire, "Behold: Meghan Markle Makes a Rare Public Appearance to Celebrate a 'Suits' Milestone," 12 July 2017
While Danticat analyzes death scenes and writers' reflections on mortal moments from Toni Morrison and Zora Neale Hurston to Albert Camus and Haruki Murakami, her mother's life and death ground her book.

— jim higgins, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "In 'The Art of Death' Edwidge Danticat faces mortality in life and fiction," 30 June 2017
The most famous (and only mortal) among them was Medusa, whose glance could turn a man to stone.

— andy staples, SI.com, "Where to eat, drink in New York City," 30 June 2017
Indeed, while the mortal dangers faced by Russian reporters have been well chronicled, the country is a difficult space for independent journalists to work in other ways.

— krishnadev calamur, The Atlantic, "How Russian Journalists Dealt With Fake News," 30 June 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'mortal.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of mortal

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

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

See Words from the same year

mortal Synonyms

Synonyms

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

Antonyms

healthful, healthy, nonfatal, nonlethal, wholesome

Near Antonyms

beneficial, restorative, salubrious, salutary; alleviative, corrective, curative, remedial, tonic; advantageous, beneficial, useful; nonpoisonous, nontoxic, safe

Synonym Discussion of 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

Other Medicine Terms

analgesia, angina, diabetes, hepatitis, homeopathy, logorrhea, palliate, pandemic

mortal

adverb

Definition of mortal

chiefly dialectal

:mortally

Origin and Etymology of mortal

see ¹mortal

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 15th century

See Words from the same year

mortal

noun

Definition of mortal

:a human being

See mortal defined for English-language learners

Examples of mortal in a Sentence

stories about gods interfering in the lives of mortals
the troubles that come to ordinary mortals

Recent Examples of mortal from the Web

Cars that mere mortals like me just read about, vehicles distinguished by otherworldly valuations or legendary histories, are suddenly sharing the same sunlight as the rest of us.

— jonathan m. gitlin, Ars Technica, "Monterey Car Week is like Comic Con and the Oscars but with wheels," 24 Aug. 2017
Like an otherworldly creature showing mortals its true form, the sun revealed its corona, its superheated atmosphere, with a ghostly flourish.

— michael greshko, National Geographic, "What It Was Like to See a Total Solar Eclipse," 21 Aug. 2017
The icon died after a cancer battle in January 2016 as a champion for the weird and a musical hero for rock stars and mortals alike.

— madison vain, PEOPLE.com, "10 Unearthed Photos of David Bowie on the Edge of Fame," 15 Aug. 2017
According to Trulia, the massive five-bedroom, eight-bathroom estate on the Malibu coastline costs the family of five $400,000 per month — which for mere mortals is a startling price, but for the Knowles-Carters, not so much.

— sara tardiff, ELLE Decor, "Beyoncé And Jay Z Are Bringing Welcome The Twins Home To This $400K Per Month Estate," 26 June 2017
Throughout his range, his tone was lovely and assured; difficult passagework seemed as straightforward as scales are to mere mortals.

— christian hertzog, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Augustin Hadelich, orchestra astounding in Mainly Mozart concert," 23 June 2017
Her boyfriend, talent agent Christian Carino, however, sports hike-friendly garb like the rest of us mortals.

— erica gonzales, Harper's BAZAAR, "Lady Gaga Wears Heels on a Hike Because a True Queen Never Rests," 22 June 2017
The 13th will play 362 yards for mortals, but if the course gets a BMW Championship (aiming for 2021) or Presidents Cup, players would hit their tee shots over the public beach, stretching the hole to 543 yards.

— teddy greenstein, chicagotribune.com, "Tribune exclusive: Sneak preview of Chicago's Tiger Woods-designed golf course," 21 June 2017
But there have been other investigations that were endlessly complicated and murky, such as the Valerie Plame leak probe, which sent reporter Judith Miller to jail for protecting her sources but was hard for mere mortals to follow.

— howard kurtz, Fox News, "Truly Troubling: How the Trump 'scandal' now permeates our culture," 21 June 2017

Origin and Etymology of mortal

see ¹human

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 15th century

See Words from the same year

mortal Synonyms

Synonyms

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

Related Words

hominid, homo, humanoid; brother, fellow, fellowman, neighbor; celebrity, personality, self, somebody

Near Antonyms

animal, beast, beastie, brute, critter

MORTAL Defined for English Language Learners

mortal

play

adjective

Definition of mortal for English Language Learners

: certain to die
: causing death
: possibly causing death

mortal

noun

Definition of mortal for English Language Learners

: a human being

MORTAL Defined for Kids

mortal

play

adjective mor·tal \ ˈmȯr-tᵊl \

Definition of mortal for Students

1 :capable of causing death

a mortal wound

2 :certain to die

We all are mortal.

3 :feeling great and lasting hatred

a mortal enemy

4 :very great or overpowering

mortal fear

5 :¹human 1

mortal power

—

mortally

adverb

mortally afraid

mortal

noun

Definition of mortal for Students

:a human being

Medical Dictionary

mortal

play

adjective mor·tal \ ˈmȯrt-ᵊl \

medical Definition of mortal

1 :having caused or being about to cause death :fatal

a mortal injury

2 :of, relating to, or connected with death

mortal agony

Learn More about mortal

See words that rhyme with mortal Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for mortal Spanish Central: Translation of mortal Nglish: Translation of mortal for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of mortal for Arabic speakers

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mortal

Definition of mortal

Origin and Etymology of mortal

mortal

Definition of mortal

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Origin and Etymology of mortal

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MORTAL Defined for English Language Learners

mortal

Definition of mortal for English Language Learners

mortal

Definition of mortal for English Language Learners

MORTAL Defined for Kids

mortal

Definition of mortal for Students

mortally

mortal

Definition of mortal for Students

Medical Dictionary

mortal

medical Definition of mortal

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