lethal

lethal — 形容詞

1. Strong enough or dangerous enough to kill a person, animal, or other living thin

1.形容詞B2
釋義

致命的

足以殺死生物體的

Strong enough or dangerous enough to kill a person, animal, or other living thing — used about poisons, weapons, diseases, doses of medicine, or physical force.

例句

The venom of this snake is highly lethal — a single bite can kill an adult.

這種蛇的毒液有高度致命性——咬一口就足以殺死一名成年人。

collocation: highly lethal

Police officers are trained to use lethal force only when protecting lives demands it.

警察受過訓練，只有在保護生命必須使用的情況下才能動用致命武力。

collocation: lethal force

同義詞
  • deadly

    more common in everyday language; broader range including poison, disease, enemy

  • fatal

    focuses on the result (death has occurred), not the capacity

  • mortal

    more formal or literary; often used about wounds or danger

反義詞

文法句型

lethal + noun (a lethal dose)

be + lethal

be lethal to + noun phrase

用法筆記

Everyday synonyms: 'deadly' is far more common in casual speech; 'lethal' is more formal and appears frequently in medical, legal, and military contexts. Distinguish from 'fatal': 'fatal' describes the outcome (a fatal accident), whereas 'lethal' describes the thing's capacity to kill (a lethal weapon).

常見錯誤

❌The car crash was lethal.
✅The car crash was fatal.
💡'Lethal' describes the potential of a thing to cause death, not the outcome of an event. Use 'fatal' for events that actually resulted in death.

2. So harmful or damaging to plans, relationships, businesses, or reputations that

2.形容詞C1
釋義

毀滅性的

對計劃、關係等造成徹底破壞的

So harmful or damaging to plans, relationships, businesses, or reputations that they are completely ruined or destroyed.

例句

The combination of rising costs and falling sales proved lethal to the family business.

成本上升加上銷售下滑，對這家家族企業造成了毀滅性的打擊。

pattern: prove lethal to [abstract entity]

Obi's careless comment had a lethal effect on their friendship, and they never spoke again.

Obi 不經意的評論對他們的友誼造成了致命影響，兩人從此不再說話。

collocation: lethal effect

同義詞
  • devastating

    emphasises the shock and emotional impact of the damage

  • destructive

    focuses on the act of breaking or ruining something

  • ruinous

    formal; suggests total financial or structural collapse

反義詞

文法句型

be lethal to + noun phrase (abstract)

lethal + noun (abstract)

用法筆記

This meaning extends the death-related idea to abstract things — a plan, career, relationship, or reputation can be 'killed'. The preposition 'to' is standard when stating what is harmed.

常見錯誤

❌The criticism was lethal for his career.
✅The criticism was lethal to his career.
💡Use 'to', not 'for', after 'lethal' in this abstract sense.

lethal — 名詞