Synonyms of deathly

deathly

adjective

ˈdeth-lē 

1

as in deadly

of, relating to, or suggestive of death

his deathly pallor suggested that any attempt to find a pulse would be futile

Synonyms & Similar Words

• deadly
• mortal
• dead
• spectral
• lethal
• murderous
• mortuary
• fatal
• ghostly
• phantom
• fell
• lifeless
• still
• inert
• killer
• cadaverous
• inactive
• quiescent
• ghostlike
• inoperative
• macabre
• fateful
• baleful
• pestilent

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• breathing
• active
• live
• alive
• living
• animate
• vigorous
• energetic
• lively
• spirited
• animated
• brisk
• vivacious
• vital
• jazzy
• perky
• frisky
• gay
• jaunty
• sound
• racy
• peppy
• well
• bouncing
• springy
• sprightly
• whole
• pert
• healthy
• snappy
• spanking
• wholesome
• robust
• hale
• hearty
• chipper
• fit
• sparky
• zippy
• able-bodied
• sprightful

2

as in lethal

likely to cause or capable of causing death

smallpox is one deathly disease that medical science has been able to conquer

Synonyms & Similar Words

• lethal
• deadly
• fatal
• poisonous
• infectious
• killer
• infective
• harmful
• murderous
• toxic
• mortal
• dangerous
• baleful
• terminal
• fell
• destructive
• pestilent
• hazardous
• pernicious
• injurious
• baneful
• vital
• virulent
• deleterious
• serious
• noxious
• perilous
• menacing
• risky
• ugly
• threatening
• bloody
• truculent
• pestilential
• sublethal
• unhealthy
• sanguinary
• grave
• grievous
• parlous
• unsound
• sanguine
• internecine
• jeopardizing

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• healthy
• healthful
• wholesome
• beneficial
• nonfatal
• nonlethal
• salutary
• salubrious
• restorative
• remedial
• curative
• useful
• corrective
• tonic
• advantageous
• safe
• alleviative
• nontoxic
• nonpoisonous

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of deathly

The stranger watched it with deathly seriousness, forehead furrowed as if thinking through some impossible problem. — Rachel Heng, New Yorker, 4 Oct. 2026

Henry once again takes a deathly blow to his reputation, but escapes real consequences, now back living a cozy life as a lord. — Paul Tassi, Forbes.com, 2 Mar. 2026

Despite its deathly reputation, Mount Baldy is oftentimes neither a particularly precarious mountain nor an especially treacherous trail. — Outside, 8 Jan. 2026

Despite the deathly dangers of fentanyl contamination, hard drug use has been enjoying record increases in Hollywood and beyond not seen since the hard-partying ’80s. — Seth Abramovitch, HollywoodReporter, 11 Nov. 2025

The deathly avalanche between Camp 2 and Camp 3 always scared me. — Ben Ayers, Outside Online, 10 Apr. 2025

Californians must rise and reclaim our Golden State from the deathly and devastating grip of endless bureaucratic cancer. — Stepheny Price, Fox News, 27 Jan. 2025

For all of those thousands of collegiate Olympians past and present, the roar of the football crowd will be drowned out by the deathly silence of their shuttered programs. — Mike Bianchi, Orlando Sentinel, 24 July 2024