Skip to content

letal

lethal

adjective leh-TAHL Rare

Origin: From Latin letalis, from letum (death).

Also means

deadly

Usage Note

Letal is invariable for gender (same form for m/f); only the number changes: letales. It is the precise medical and legal term (dosis letal, lethal dose), while mortal is more common in everyday speech for 'deadly' or 'fatal'. Letal carries a clinical, deliberate tone that mortal does not always convey.

Examples

"Ingirió una dosis letal del veneno."

Natural Translation

He ingested a lethal dose of the poison.

Explore Spanish by topic