What does "mortal" mean?
A human; someone susceptible to death.
Mortal
/ˈmɔɹ.təl/ adj, adv, noun, slang
adj, adv, noun, slang ·Common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A human; someone susceptible to death.
- Grammar: mortal is listed as adj, adv, noun, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: individual, person, abject, adamite.
- Useful contrasts: everlasting, immortal, natal.
- Usage evidence: We know that all men are mortal.
How to use "mortal"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "mortal" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "mortal" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "mortal" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "mortal" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "mortal" is acting as adj, adv, noun, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "individual" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "mortal", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A human; someone susceptible to death.
"Her wisdom was beyond that of a mere mortal."
- 2 a human being; person, singular, assertive existential pronoun; pronoun, person, singular; quantifier: assertive existential wordnet
Adjective
- 1 Susceptible to death by aging, sickness, injury, or wound; not immortal.
- 2 Causing death; deadly, fatal, killing, lethal (now only of wounds, injuries etc.).
"Blyndfold he was; and in his cruell fist A mortall bow and arrowes keene did hold […]"
- 3 Punishable by death.
- 4 Fatally vulnerable.
"Last of all, against himself he turns his sword, but missing the mortal place, with his poniard finishes the work."
- 5 Of or relating to the time of death.
"Safe in the hand of one disposing Power, Or in the natal or the mortal hour."
Show 5 more definitions
- 6 Affecting as if with power to kill; deathly; related to a life-and-death struggle.
"mortal enemy"
- 7 Human; belonging or pertaining to people who are mortal.
"mortal wit or knowledge; mortal power"
- 8 Very painful or tedious; wearisome.
"a sermon lasting two mortal hours"
- 9 Very drunk. Geordie, Scotland, slang
"Thats^([sic]) nothing, says Tequila Sheila, who told how the summer she was housemaid in The Saint Columba she took this guy back to the staff flats while mortal on slammers and crashed out on him before anything could happen."
- 10 Causing spiritual death.
Adjective
- 1 causing or capable of causing death wordnet
- 2 unrelenting and deadly wordnet
- 3 subject to death wordnet
- 4 involving loss of divine grace or spiritual death wordnet
Adverb
- 1 Mortally; enough to cause death. colloquial, not-comparable
"It's mortal cold out there."
Antonyms
Example
"We know that all men are mortal."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "mortal"?
Common synonyms include: individual, person, abject, adamite, adamitic, anthropocentric.
How do you use "mortal" in a sentence?
We know that all men are mortal.
How do you pronounce "mortal"?
Pronounced /ˈmɔɹ.təl/.
Etymology
From Middle English mortal, mortel, from Old French mortal, and their source Latin mortālis, from mors (“death”). In this sense, displaced native deadly, from Old English dēadlīċ.