deadliness
/ˈded-lē-nəs/ (ame, mw)
deadliness — noun
1. how likely a poison, disease, weapon, or dangerous situation is to cause death
how likely a poison, disease, weapon, or dangerous situation is to cause death
Tests showed the deadliness of the gas before miners entered the tunnel.
pattern: the deadliness of [substance]
Doctors feared the deadliness of the infection after two children stopped breathing.
collocation: the deadliness of [disease]
The report compared the deadliness of different snakes found near the village.
Firefighters underestimated the deadliness of the smoke inside the locked apartment.
Museum guides explained the deadliness of old weapons to visiting students.
- lethality
very close in meaning, but more technical and common in medical or military writing
- danger
broader word; something can be dangerous without being likely to kill
- destructiveness
focuses on damage in general rather than specifically on causing death
- harmlessness
the quality of not causing injury or death
文法句型
the deadliness of [something]
用法筆記
Usually uncountable. Most often appears in the pattern 'the deadliness of ...' when describing poisons, diseases, smoke, weapons, or other life-threatening conditions.