deadly
/ˈdedli/ (bre, ipa) · /ˈdedli/ (ame, ipa) · /ˈded-lē/ (ame, mw) · /ˈded.li/ (bre, ipa) · /ˈded.li/ (ame, ipa)
deadly — 形容詞
- deadlypositive
- deadliercomparative
- deadliestsuperlative
1. able to cause the death of a living person, animal, or plant — for example, a de
致命的
會導致死亡的；能奪走性命的
able to cause the death of a living person, animal, or plant — for example, a deadly poison, a deadly disease, or a deadly weapon.
Ryo's doctor warned him the infection could become deadly without immediate treatment.
Ryo 的醫師警告他，如果不及時治療，感染可能會致命。
collocation: deadly + illness (infection, disease, wound)
The young hiker survived a deadly snake bite only because she had the correct antidote in her bag.
那位年輕的登山客被致命毒蛇咬傷後之所以能活下來，只因為她的背包裡剛好有正確的解毒劑。
collocation: deadly snake bite
Police warned the public that a deadly new drug was being sold at music festivals across the country.
警方警告民眾，一種致命的新毒品正在全國各地的音樂節上販售。
The old wooden staircase was declared deadly after it collapsed under the weight of two workers carrying bricks.
那座老舊的木梯在兩名搬磚工人踩塌之後，被宣布具有致命危險。
- fatal
emphasizes the certain outcome — something that actually causes death, rather than just being capable of it
- lethal
focuses on inherent capacity or design to kill; more formal
- mortal
formal and rarer; used mainly for wounds, enemies, or struggles that involve death
- poisonous
specific to substances that cause death or illness when absorbed by the body
用法筆記
Frequently used for poisons, diseases, weapons, dangerous animals, and hazardous situations. Can be used both before a noun (attributive: a deadly poison) and after a linking verb (predicative: this poison is deadly).
常見錯誤
2. to the highest possible degree; total or absolute — used with nouns that describ
極度；完全
達到最高程度的；徹底的
to the highest possible degree; total or absolute — used with nouns that describe serious qualities or states, such as seriousness, silence, or concentration.
When Maja said she was moving to Tokyo alone, she had a deadly serious expression on her face.
當 Maja 說她要獨自搬到東京時，她臉上的表情極度認真。
collocation: deadly serious (fixed intensifier pair)
The courtroom fell into deadly silence as the judge began reading the guilty verdict slowly.
法官開始緩慢宣讀有罪判決時，法庭陷入一片死寂。
collocation: deadly silence
The two politicians were deadly rivals who had opposed each other on every policy for more than ten years.
那兩位政治人物是死對頭，十年多來在每一項政策上都持反對立場。
Benjamin trained with deadly concentration, refusing to let any noise or movement break his focus during practice.
Benjamin 以極度專注的態度訓練，拒絕讓任何聲響或動作在練習中分散他的注意力。
用法筆記
Typically used with abstract nouns describing qualities or states (seriousness, silence, concentration, rivals, certainty, precision). Does NOT apply to concrete physical objects — for example, you cannot say 'a deadly house' in this sense.
常見錯誤
3. extremely uninteresting, in a way that feels lifeless and difficult to endure —
極無聊
極其沉悶乏味的
extremely uninteresting, in a way that feels lifeless and difficult to endure — for example, a deadly lecture, a deadly conversation, or a deadly party.
The lecture on tax law was so deadly that half the class fell asleep within the first twenty minutes.
那場稅法講座無聊到全班有一半的人在頭二十分鐘內就睡著了。
pattern: so + deadly + that-clause
Caio called his office job deadly dull — he stared at the clock all day.
Caio 說他的辦公室工作無聊得要命——他整天都盯著時鐘。
collocation: deadly dull (fixed intensifier pair)
Yael's film about paint drying was deadly, so she turned it off.
Yael 那部關於油漆乾燥的影片實在太沉悶，所以她關掉了。
Jisoo's dinner party became deadly after the guests ran out of things to talk about.
Jisoo 的晚宴變得極其無趣，客人們把能聊的話題都聊完了。
- dull
the core meaning; less dramatic than 'deadly'
- tedious
slow and long, often because something is repetitive
- monotonous
boring because of a lack of change or variety
- mind-numbing
informal; so boring it feels like your brain is shutting down
用法筆記
Commonly used in informal speech and writing. Often pairs with 'dull' to form the fixed phrase 'deadly dull'. This sense is always subjective — it describes a person's personal feeling of boredom, not an objective quality of the thing itself.
常見錯誤
4. so highly effective, skilful, or powerful that it defeats any opposition or defe
難以招架的
極其有效而難以抵擋的
so highly effective, skilful, or powerful that it defeats any opposition or defence — for example, deadly aim, a deadly argument, or deadly jokes.
The archer drew her bow and released a deadly arrow that flew straight into the centre of the target.
那位弓箭手拉開弓，射出一支精準無比的箭，直中靶心。
collocation: deadly + weapon (arrow, aim, blow)
Quan's deadly aim with a basketball made him the highest scorer on his team throughout the entire season.
Quan 的投籃極其精準，整個球季都是隊上的最高得分手。
Tendai's jokes were always deadly — each one made the whole table laugh until their stomach started aching from it.
Tendai 的笑話總是銳不可當——每一則都讓整桌人笑到肚子痛。
The lawyer made a deadly argument that left the witness unable to explain what she had said earlier in court.
那位律師提出了一個讓人無法招架的論點，使證人完全無法解釋她稍早在法庭上說過的話。
- devastating
very close in meaning; emphasizes the effect of overwhelming the opponent
- unerring
always accurate, never missing the target; more formal
- lethal
informal use meaning 'extremely good' — 'the band played a lethal set'
- ineffective
not producing the desired result
- weak
lacking power or skill to defeat opposition
用法筆記
Common with nouns describing skills or weapons (aim, accuracy, argument, wit, joke, logic, precision). The core idea is 'so good that nothing can stop it or defend against it'. Distinguish from sense 1 (DEATH-CAUSING): a 'deadly argument' does not literally kill anyone — it defeats an opponent's position completely.
常見錯誤
deadly — 副詞
1. to a very great or extreme degree — used before adjectives such as serious, dull
極其；非常
用來加強形容詞的程度
to a very great or extreme degree — used before adjectives such as serious, dull, quiet, and still to make their meaning stronger.
Lucas was deadly serious when he promised to return all the borrowed money by Friday afternoon.
Lucas 極其認真地承諾他會在星期五下午之前把借的錢全部還清。
collocation: deadly serious (fixed intensifier pair)
The film that Diya recommended was deadly dull, and she apologized to everyone for wasting two hours of their evening.
Diya 推薦的那部電影沉悶至極，她向大家道歉說浪費了大家兩個小時的晚上時間。
collocation: deadly dull (fixed intensifier pair)
Owen's parents stayed deadly quiet after he told them he had crashed their car into a tree near the school.
Owen 告訴爸媽他把車撞上了學校附近的樹之後，他們極度安靜，一句話也沒說。
The whole village was deadly still on the morning after the storm had passed through the valley during the night.
暴風雨在夜裡掠過山谷之後，隔天早上整個村莊陷入一片死寂。
- extremely
much more common and neutral; can be used in any register
- incredibly
informal; slightly less strong than 'deadly'
- absolutely
common intensifier; pairs with a wider range of adjectives
文法句型
deadly + adjective
用法筆記
Only modifies adjectives (deadly serious, deadly dull, deadly quiet, deadly still, deadly slow). Does NOT modify verbs — you cannot say 'He deadly ran' or 'She deadly wanted it'. Limited to a small set of adjectives; cannot replace 'very' freely in all contexts.