mortal

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mor·tal

(môr′tl)

adj.

a. Liable or subject to death; not immortal: mortal beings.

b. Of or relating to humans as being subject to death: "When we have shuffled off this mortal coil" (Shakespeare).

a. Causing death; fatal: a mortal wound. See Synonyms at fatal.

b. Fought to the death: mortal combat.

c. Relentlessly hostile; implacable: a mortal enemy.

a. Of great intensity or severity; dire: mortal terror.

b. Conceivable; imaginable: no mortal reason for us to go.

c. Used as an intensive: a mortal fool.

A human.

[Middle English, from Old French, from Latin mortālis, from mors, mort-, death; see mer- in Indo-European roots.]

mor′tal·ly adv.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

mortal

(ˈmɔːtəl)

adj

1. (Biology) (of living beings, esp human beings) subject to death

2. (Biology) of or involving life or the world

3. (Pathology) ending in or causing death; fatal: a mortal blow.

4. deadly or unrelenting: a mortal enemy.

5. of or like the fear of death; dire: mortal terror.

6. great or very intense: mortal pain.

7. possible: there was no mortal reason to go.

8. slang long and tedious: for three mortal hours.

9. a mortal being

10. informal a person: a mean mortal.

[C14: from Latin mortālis, from mors death]

ˈmortally adv

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

mor•tal

(ˈmɔr tl)

adj.

1. subject to death; having a transitory life: mortal creatures.

2. of or pertaining to human beings as subject to death: this mortal life.

3. belonging to this world.

4. implacable; relentless: a mortal enemy.

5. severe; dire; grievous: in mortal fear.

6. causing or liable to cause death; fatal: a mortal wound.

7. to the death: mortal combat.

8. of or pertaining to death.

9. long and wearisome.

10. extreme; very great: in a mortal hurry.

11. conceivable; possible: of no mortal value to the owners.

12. involving spiritual death: mortal transgressions.

13. a human being.

[1325–75; Middle English < Latin mortālis=mort- (s. of mors) death + -ālis -al¹]

mor′tal•ly, adv.

syn: See fatal.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

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Noun	1.	mortal - a human being; "there was too much for one person to do" individual, person, somebody, someone, soul organism, being - a living thing that has (or can develop) the ability to act or function independently causal agency, causal agent, cause - any entity that produces an effect or is responsible for events or results personality - the complex of all the attributes--behavioral, temperamental, emotional and mental--that characterize a unique individual; "their different reactions reflected their very different personalities"; "it is his nature to help others" chassis, bod, human body, material body, physical body, physique, build, anatomy, figure, flesh, frame, shape, soma, form - alternative names for the body of a human being; "Leonardo studied the human body"; "he has a strong physique"; "the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak" people - (plural) any group of human beings (men or women or children) collectively; "old people"; "there were at least 200 people in the audience" self - a person considered as a unique individual; "one's own self" adult, grownup - a fully developed person from maturity onward adventurer, venturer - a person who enjoys taking risks unusual person, anomaly - a person who is unusual applicant, applier - a person who requests or seeks something such as assistance or employment or admission appointee, appointment - a person who is appointed to a job or position capitalist - a person who invests capital in a business (especially a large business) captor, capturer - a person who captures and holds people or animals changer, modifier - a person who changes something; "an inveterate changer of the menu" color-blind person - a person unable to distinguish differences in hue common man, common person, commoner - a person who holds no title communicator - a person who communicates with others contestant - a person who participates in competitions coward - a person who shows fear or timidity creator - a person who grows or makes or invents things controversialist, disputant, eristic - a person who disputes; who is good at or enjoys controversy applied scientist, engineer, technologist - a person who uses scientific knowledge to solve practical problems entertainer - a person who tries to please or amuse experimenter - a person who enjoys testing innovative ideas; "she was an experimenter in new forms of poetry" expert - a person with special knowledge or ability who performs skillfully face - a part of a person that is used to refer to a person; "he looked out at a roomful of faces"; "when he returned to work he met many new faces" female person, female - a person who belongs to the sex that can have babies individualist - a person who pursues independent thought or action denizen, dweller, habitant, inhabitant, indweller - a person who inhabits a particular place aborigine, indigen, indigene, native, aboriginal - an indigenous person who was born in a particular place; "the art of the natives of the northwest coast"; "the Canadian government scrapped plans to tax the grants to aboriginal college students" native - a person born in a particular place or country; "he is a native of Brazil" inexperienced person, innocent - a person who lacks knowledge of evil intellectual, intellect - a person who uses the mind creatively juvenile, juvenile person - a young person, not fully developed lover - a person who loves someone or is loved by someone loved one - a person who you love, usually a member of your family leader - a person who rules or guides or inspires others male person, male - a person who belongs to the sex that cannot have babies money dealer, money handler - a person who receives or invests or pays out money national, subject - a person who owes allegiance to that nation; "a monarch has a duty to his subjects" nonreligious person - a person who does not manifest devotion to a deity nonworker - a person who does nothing compeer, equal, peer, match - a person who is of equal standing with another in a group beholder, observer, perceiver, percipient - a person who becomes aware (of things or events) through the senses
Adj.	1.	mortal - subject to death; "mortal beings" finite - bounded or limited in magnitude or spatial or temporal extent earthly - of or belonging to or characteristic of this earth as distinguished from heaven; "earthly beings"; "believed that our earthly life is all that matters"; "earthly love"; "our earthly home" immortal - not subject to death
	2.	mortal - involving loss of divine grace or spiritual death; "the seven deadly sins" deadly theology, divinity - the rational and systematic study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truth unpardonable - not admitting of pardon; "unpardonable behavior"
	3.	mortal - unrelenting and deadly; "mortal enemy" merciless, unmerciful - having or showing no mercy; "the merciless enemy"; "a merciless critic"; "gave him a merciless beating"
	4.	mortal - causing or capable of causing death; "a fatal accident"; "a deadly enemy"; "mortal combat"; "a mortal illness" deadly, deathly fatal - bringing death

mortal

adjective

1. human, worldly, passing, earthly, fleshly, temporal, transient, ephemeral, perishable, corporeal, impermanent, sublunary Man is designed to be mortal.

2. fatal, killing, terminal, deadly, destructive, lethal, murderous, death-dealing a mortal blow to terrorism

3. unrelenting, bitter, sworn, deadly, relentless, to the death, implacable, out-and-out, irreconcilable, remorseless Broadcasting was regarded as the mortal enemy of live music.

4. great, serious, terrible, enormous, severe, extreme, grave, intense, awful, dire, agonizing She lived in mortal fear that one day she would be found out.

5. unpardonable, unforgivable, irremissible Masturbation is considered a mortal sin by the church.

noun

1. human being, being, man, woman, body, person, human, individual, earthling impossible needs for any mere mortal to meet

Quotations
"What fools these mortals be!" [William Shakespeare A Midsummer Night's Dream]

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

mortal

adjective

1. Of or characteristic of human beings or mankind:

human.

2. Causing or tending to cause death:

deadly, deathly, fatal, lethal, vital.

3. Capable of being anticipated, considered, or imagined:

conceivable, earthly, imaginable, likely, possible, thinkable.

Idioms: humanly possible, within the bounds of possibility.

noun

A member of the human race:

being, body, creature, homo, human, human being, individual, life, man, party, person, personage, soul.

Translations

إنْسان، مَخْلوق بَشَريفانٍ، زائِلمُميت، قاتِل

smrtelníksmrtelný-icena život a na smrt

dødelig

sterblich Sterbliche tödlich

mortal

kuolevainen

mortel mortelle

smrtansmrtnicasmrtnik

halandó

banvænndauîlegurmanneskja, dauîleg vera

mortale letale

운명

mirštamumasmirtina nuodėmėmirtingasmirtingumasžūtbūtinis

mirstīgaismirstīgsnāvējošsnāvīgs

dødelig menneske levende sjel sjel

smrteľník

smrtnik

dödlig

insanöldürücüölümlü

凡人必死的终有一死的致命的

mortal

[ˈmɔːtl]

A. ADJ

1. (= destined to die) → mortal

2. (liter) (= fatal) [wound, blow] → mortal

3. (= deadly) [enemy] → mortal

4. (= extreme) [terror] → espantoso
she screamed in mortal terror → gritó aterrorizada
to be in mortal danger → estar en peligro de muerte
to live in mortal fear that → vivir aterrorizado de que ...

B. N → mortal mf
they are now reduced to the status of ordinary mortals → quedan ahora reducidos al estatus de simples mortales
see also mere ²

C. CPD mortal combat N → combate m a muerte
mortal remains NPL → restos mpl mortales
mortal sin N → pecado m mortal

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

mortal

[ˈmɔː^rt^əl]

adj

[being] → mortel(le)

[danger, enemy] → mortel(le)

n → mortel(le) m/f
the ordinary mortal → le commun des mortels
a mere mortal → un simple mortel

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

mortal

adj

(= liable to die) → sterblich; (= causing death) injury, combat → tödlich; to deal (somebody/something) a mortal blow → (jdm/einer Sache) einen tödlichen Schlag versetzen; to be locked in mortal combat → auf Leben und Tod miteinander kämpfen

(= extreme) → tödlich, Todes-; (inf) hurry, embarrassment → irrsinnig (inf); mortal fear → Todesangst f; mortal agony → Todesqualen pl; to live in mortal fear or dread that … → eine Todesangst haben, dass …; mortal enemy → Todfeind(in) m(f)

(inf, = conceivable) no mortal use → überhaupt kein Nutzen

(inf, = tedious) hours, boredom → tödlich (inf)

n → Sterbliche(r) mf; ordinary mortal (inf) → Normalsterbliche(r) mf (inf); a mere mortal → ein bloßer Sterblicher

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

mortal

[ˈmɔːtl] adj & n → mortale (m/f)

mortal

(ˈmoːtl) adjective

1. liable to die; unable to live for ever. Man is mortal.

2. of or causing death. a mortal illness; mortal enemies (= enemies willing to fight each other till death); mortal combat.

noun

a human being. All mortals must die sometime.

morˈtality (-ˈtӕ-) noun

1. the state of being mortal.

2. (also mortality rate) the number of deaths in proportion to the population; the death rate. infant mortality.

ˈmortally adverb

in such a way as to cause death. He has been mortally wounded.

mortal sin

(especially in Roman Catholicism) a very serious sin, as a result of which the soul is damned for ever.

mor·tal

a. mortal, mortífero-a, fatal, letal.

mortal

adj mortal, fatal

References in classic literature ?

CHORUS She was sprung of gods, divine, Mortals we of mortal line.

View in context

Where any of these wanted fortunes, I would provide them with convenient lodges round my own estate, and have some of them always at my table; only mingling a few of the most valuable among you mortals, whom length of time would harden me to lose with little or no reluctance, and treat your posterity after the same manner; just as a man diverts himself with the annual succession of pinks and tulips in his garden, without regretting the loss of those which withered the preceding year.

View in context

Of themselves diseases come upon men continually by day and by night, bringing mischief to mortals silently; for wise Zeus took away speech from them.

View in context

"Now, little Eva," said they, "you will see that Fairies are not idle, wilful Spirits, as mortals believe.

View in context

Hooper, "I, perhaps, like most other mortals, have sorrows dark enough to be typified by a black veil."

View in context

For instance, assuming to myself the power of marshalling the aforesaid procession, I direct a trumpeter to send forth a blast loud enough to be heard from hence to China; and a herald, with world-pervading voice, to make proclamation for a certain class of mortals to take their places.

View in context

But Adam did not need it, Nor the plough he would not speed it, Singing:--"Earth and Water, Air and Fire, What more can mortal man desire?"(The Apple Tree's in bud.)

View in context

de Richelieu was but seventeen months younger than I am when he died, and died of a mortal disease.

View in context

From the first moment of life, the result of passionate love and desire, there is nought but the bodily form transitional as the lightning flash." Yet apart from all transitory passions and the ephemeral results of mortal love, the song of the Taoist lover soars unstained, untrammelled.

View in context

For, not to hint of this: that it is an inference from certain canonic teachings, that while some natural enjoyments here shall have no children born to them for the other world, but, on the contrary, shall be followed by the joy-childlessness of all hell's despair; whereas, some guilty mortal miseries shall still fertilely beget to themselves an eternally progressive progeny of griefs beyond the grave; not at all to hint of this, there still seems an inequality in the deeper analysis of the thing.

View in context

She was not all immortal, as man is not all mortal. She was the sweetness of the strength of the oak, the soul born of the sun kissing its green leaves in the still Memnonian mornings, of moon and stars kissing its green leaves in the still Trophonian nights.

View in context

The French invaders, like an infuriated animal that has in its onslaught received a mortal wound, felt that they were perishing, but could not stop, any more than the Russian army, weaker by one half, could help swerving.