deadly
deadly — adjective
1. able to cause the death of a living person, animal, or plant — for example, a de
able to cause the death of a living person, animal, or plant — for example, a deadly poison, a deadly disease, or a deadly weapon.
Ryo's doctor warned him the infection could become deadly without immediate treatment.
collocation: deadly + illness (infection, disease, wound)
The young hiker survived a deadly snake bite only because she had the correct antidote in her bag.
collocation: deadly snake bite
Police warned the public that a deadly new drug was being sold at music festivals across the country.
The old wooden staircase was declared deadly after it collapsed under the weight of two workers carrying bricks.
- fatal
emphasizes the certain outcome — something that actually causes death, rather than just being capable of it
- lethal
focuses on inherent capacity or design to kill; more formal
- mortal
formal and rarer; used mainly for wounds, enemies, or struggles that involve death
- poisonous
specific to substances that cause death or illness when absorbed by the body
用法筆記
Frequently used for poisons, diseases, weapons, dangerous animals, and hazardous situations. Can be used both before a noun (attributive: a deadly poison) and after a linking verb (predicative: this poison is deadly).
常見錯誤
2. to the highest possible degree; total or absolute — used with nouns that describ
to the highest possible degree; total or absolute — used with nouns that describe serious qualities or states, such as seriousness, silence, or concentration.
When Maja said she was moving to Tokyo alone, she had a deadly serious expression on her face.
collocation: deadly serious (fixed intensifier pair)
The courtroom fell into deadly silence as the judge began reading the guilty verdict slowly.
collocation: deadly silence
The two politicians were deadly rivals who had opposed each other on every policy for more than ten years.
Benjamin trained with deadly concentration, refusing to let any noise or movement break his focus during practice.
用法筆記
Typically used with abstract nouns describing qualities or states (seriousness, silence, concentration, rivals, certainty, precision). Does NOT apply to concrete physical objects — for example, you cannot say 'a deadly house' in this sense.
常見錯誤
3. extremely uninteresting, in a way that feels lifeless and difficult to endure —
extremely uninteresting, in a way that feels lifeless and difficult to endure — for example, a deadly lecture, a deadly conversation, or a deadly party.
The lecture on tax law was so deadly that half the class fell asleep within the first twenty minutes.
pattern: so + deadly + that-clause
Caio called his office job deadly dull — he stared at the clock all day.
collocation: deadly dull (fixed intensifier pair)
Yael's film about paint drying was deadly, so she turned it off.
Jisoo's dinner party became deadly after the guests ran out of things to talk about.
- dull
the core meaning; less dramatic than 'deadly'
- tedious
slow and long, often because something is repetitive
- monotonous
boring because of a lack of change or variety
- mind-numbing
informal; so boring it feels like your brain is shutting down
用法筆記
Commonly used in informal speech and writing. Often pairs with 'dull' to form the fixed phrase 'deadly dull'. This sense is always subjective — it describes a person's personal feeling of boredom, not an objective quality of the thing itself.
常見錯誤
4. so highly effective, skilful, or powerful that it defeats any opposition or defe
so highly effective, skilful, or powerful that it defeats any opposition or defence — for example, deadly aim, a deadly argument, or deadly jokes.
The archer drew her bow and released a deadly arrow that flew straight into the centre of the target.
collocation: deadly + weapon (arrow, aim, blow)
Quan's deadly aim with a basketball made him the highest scorer on his team throughout the entire season.
Tendai's jokes were always deadly — each one made the whole table laugh until their stomach started aching from it.
The lawyer made a deadly argument that left the witness unable to explain what she had said earlier in court.
- devastating
very close in meaning; emphasizes the effect of overwhelming the opponent
- unerring
always accurate, never missing the target; more formal
- lethal
informal use meaning 'extremely good' — 'the band played a lethal set'
- ineffective
not producing the desired result
- weak
lacking power or skill to defeat opposition
用法筆記
Common with nouns describing skills or weapons (aim, accuracy, argument, wit, joke, logic, precision). The core idea is 'so good that nothing can stop it or defend against it'. Distinguish from sense 1 (DEATH-CAUSING): a 'deadly argument' does not literally kill anyone — it defeats an opponent's position completely.
常見錯誤
deadly — adverb
1. to a very great or extreme degree — used before adjectives such as serious, dull
to a very great or extreme degree — used before adjectives such as serious, dull, quiet, and still to make their meaning stronger.
Lucas was deadly serious when he promised to return all the borrowed money by Friday afternoon.
collocation: deadly serious (fixed intensifier pair)
The film that Diya recommended was deadly dull, and she apologized to everyone for wasting two hours of their evening.
collocation: deadly dull (fixed intensifier pair)
Owen's parents stayed deadly quiet after he told them he had crashed their car into a tree near the school.
The whole village was deadly still on the morning after the storm had passed through the valley during the night.
- extremely
much more common and neutral; can be used in any register
- incredibly
informal; slightly less strong than 'deadly'
- absolutely
common intensifier; pairs with a wider range of adjectives
文法句型
deadly + adjective
用法筆記
Only modifies adjectives (deadly serious, deadly dull, deadly quiet, deadly still, deadly slow). Does NOT modify verbs — you cannot say 'He deadly ran' or 'She deadly wanted it'. Limited to a small set of adjectives; cannot replace 'very' freely in all contexts.