American English
/ˈdɛd̚.li/
2 syllables · Stress the first syllable.
Able to kill a person or animal.
In “deadly,” the /d/ before /l/ may be unreleased, so the transition can sound very smooth: /ˈdɛd̚.li/.
Able to kill a person or animal.
The snake has a deadly bite.
This disease can be deadly.
Deadly means able to kill. Dangerous does not always mean that someone could die.
deadly disease · deadly weapon · deadly poison · deadly virus
a deadly + noun
noun + can be + deadly
Very dangerous and likely to cause great harm or a disastrous result.
The two chemicals form a deadly combination.
They faced a deadly threat from the enemy.
deadly combination · deadly threat · deadly enemy
a deadly + noun
noun + be + deadly
Used before an adjective to mean extremely or completely.
I'm deadly serious about this.
The player is deadly accurate.
deadly serious · deadly accurate · deadly effective
deadly + adjective
completely serious and not joking
I'm deadly serious about this.
force that can kill someone, especially when used by police or soldiers
The officer used deadly force.
one of seven very serious sins in Christian teaching
Pride is often called a deadly sin.