adj, adv ·2 syllables ·Moderate ·High school level

Definitions

Adjective

1. 1
   Appearing as though dead, or on the verge of death.

   "He has a deathly pallor."

2. 2
   Deadly, fatal, causing death.
3. 3
   Extreme.

   "He has a deathly fear of crocodiles."

Adjective

1. 1
   having the physical appearance of death wordnet
2. 2
   causing or capable of causing death wordnet

Adverb

1. 1
   In a way that resembles death.

   "He was deathly pale."

2. 2
   Extremely, dreadfully.

   "The water was deathly cold."

Adverb

1. 1
   to an extreme degree wordnet
2. 2
   to a degree resembling death wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms

deathlikefatala la mortabominablyagonizinglyappalling

Example

More examples

"Her deathly paleness is due to long illness."

Etymology

From Middle English dethlich, from Old English dēaþlīċ, equivalent to death + -ly.

Related phrases

deathly pale

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.