lethal

Từ điển Oxford Advanced Learner 8th

le·thal BrE [ˈliːθl] NAmE [ˈliːθl] adjective
1. causing or able to cause death
Syn: ↑deadly, Syn: ↑fatal
•a lethal dose of poison
•a lethal weapon
• (figurative)The closure of the factory dealt a lethal blow to the town.
•The snake's venom is rarely lethal to humans.
2. (informal)causing or able to cause a lot of harm or damage
•You and that car— it's a lethal combination!
Derived Word: ↑lethally

Word Origin:
[lethal lethally] late 16th cent. (in the sense ‘causing spiritual death’): from Latin lethalis, from lethum, a variant (influenced by Greek lēthē ‘forgetfulness’), of letum ‘death’.

Example Bank:
•All these knives are absolutely lethal.
•It was a potentially lethal mixture of drugs.
•The pesticide is lethal to all insect life.
•Any sharp pointed instrument is potentially a lethal weapon.
•He has been sentenced to death by lethal injection.
•She had been given a lethal dose of poison.
•The group claims that a lethal cocktail of pollutants is being poured into Scotland's rivers and estuaries.
•The snake's venom is rarely lethal to humans.