mortal

1 of 3

adjective

mor·​tal ˈmȯr-tᵊl 

1

: causing or having caused death : fatal

a mortal injury

—often used figuratively

They claim that the law will deal a mortal blow to many small businesses.

2

a(1)

: subject to death

mortal man

Every living creature is mortal.

(2)

: possibly causing or resulting in death

in mortal danger

warriors locked in mortal combat

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

lived in mortal fear/dread/terror of being betrayed

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 of mortal

Adjective

• lethal
• deadly
• fatal

Noun

• person
• life
• man
• creature
• guy
• human

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

Bautista is playing The Kurgen, the movie’s top villain, while Gillan is MacLeod’s Scottish and very mortal wife. —Borys Kit, HollywoodReporter, 4 Nov. 2025

From Ithaca’s orchard to his father’s garden, Gospodinov moves from mythic to mortal soil. —James Wood, New Yorker, 3 Nov. 2025

Noun

That plan goes badly, resulting in Gabriel being banished to Earth to reside among us mortals. —Tim Grierson, Vulture, 18 Oct. 2025

There’s a cosmogony in which the world is fashioned from the corpse of a slain giant or a protohuman, and another in which a hero, Prometheus-style, steals fire from the gods and gives it to mortals. —Manvir Singh, New Yorker, 13 Oct. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Adjective

Middle English, borrowed from Anglo-French & Latin; Anglo-French mortel, mortal, borrowed from Latin mortālis "subject to death, appropriate to humans (as opposed to gods), human, subject to decay, transitory," from mort-, mors "death" + -ālis -al entry 1 — more at murder entry 1

Noun

Middle English mortail, borrowed from Anglo-French & Latin; Anglo-French mortal, mortel, borrowed from Latin mortālis "human being (as opposed to a god), person, soul," noun derivative of mortālis, adjective, "subject to death, mortal 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

Rhymes for mortal

• quartile
• immortal

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