mortal

1 of 3

adjective

mor·​tal ˈmȯr-tᵊl How to pronounce mortal (audio)
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 somebodyTime
6
: of, relating to, or connected with death
mortal agony

mortal

2 of 3

adverb

chiefly dialectal

mortal

3 of 3

noun

: a human being
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
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 But through its years-spanning depiction of both the mortal danger and mental strain of living under occupation, the film underlines that the situation has been at crisis point for a long time, whether or not it’s been grabbing international headlines. Guy Lodge, Variety, 23 Feb. 2024 How does a Kindred who wants to break up with their mortal boyfriend decide to end things and protect the Masquerade? Rob Wieland, Forbes, 16 Feb. 2024 But Erskine and Glover never seem anything other than mortal. Reggie Ugwu, New York Times, 12 Feb. 2024 Horrified by this revelation, Dornan's character twice attempts death by suicide and the show's cliffhanger ending leaves the character possibly about to leave this mortal coil. Clark Collis, EW.com, 1 Feb. 2024
Noun
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 While Mesopotamian myths describe dogs as companions to gods and goddesses, Mesopotamian art depicts dogs as companions to mere mortals. Sam Walters, Discover Magazine, 11 Jan. 2024 No, but the Who’s The Boss alum lives better than most of us can imagine—and has access to things and people mere mortals do not. Melissa Willets, Parents, 3 Feb. 2024 Every year, there are Grammy parties with jaw-dropping collections of stars that most mortals don’t get to attend. Jem Aswad, Variety, 1 Feb. 2024 Stripped of pomp and circumstance, the customer is just another high-net-worth individual blowing a mere mortal’s mortgage payment on a sip of old liquor. Adam Erace, Fortune, 28 Jan. 2024

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

Dictionary Entries Near mortal

Cite this Entry

“Mortal.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mortal. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

mortal

1 of 2 adjective
mor·​tal ˈmȯrt-ᵊl How to pronounce mortal (audio)
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 How to pronounce mortal (audio)
1
: having caused or being about to cause death : fatal
a mortal injury
2
: of, relating to, or connected with death
mortal agony

More from Merriam-Webster on mortal

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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