lethal and deadly

[jiang]

Dear teachers,

I have two questions to ask:

I have consulted my dictionary and found the definitions:

lethal: able to cause or causing death; extremely dangerous
deadly: likely to cause death

Does this mean that 'something lethal' is more dangerous than ' a deadly thing'?
No.2
The word 'bound' can mean 'limit'. So the sentence 'His desire for political power apparently knows no bounds' can be rewritten this way ' There is no limit to his desire for political power'. Is that right?

Looking forward to hearing from you.

Thank you in advance.

Jiang

[DCPaco]

lethal: able to cause or causing death; extremely dangerous
deadly: likely to cause death

Does this mean that 'something lethal' is more dangerous than 'a deadly thing'?

Very good question. Lethal is used to describe those things that if applied are CERTAIN to cause death (and yes, as you have indicated "'something lethal' is more dangerous than 'a deadly thing'").
A lethal injection will cause death when applied.

When something is deadly, it may cause death; but, there is a slim chance that it may not. The venom of some snakes is deadly--because if the victim is treated, they might survive.

[DCPaco]

No.2
The word 'bound' can mean 'limit'. So the sentence 'His desire for political power apparently knows no bounds' can be rewritten this way ' There is no limit to his desire for political power'. Is that right?

Absolutely correct. :)

[Tdol]

In addition to what DCPaco said, 'deadly' can also be used when something is ruined, but physical death does not result- a mistake can be deadly, which might ruin your career, but without resulting in your death, though there would be no risk of physical death.

PS, Welcome to the forum DCPaco.

[Dr. Jamshid Ibrahim]

Dear teachers,
I have two questions to ask:
I have consulted my dictionary and found the definitions:
lethal: able to cause or causing death; extremely dangerous
deadly: likely to cause death
Does this mean that 'something lethal' is more dangerous than ' a deadly thing'?
No.2
The word 'bound' can mean 'limit'. So the sentence 'His desire for political power apparently knows no bounds' can be rewritten this way ' There is no limit to his desire for political power'. Is that right?
Looking forward to hearing from you.
Thank you in advance.
Jiang

In addition to what has already been said I would like to add as follows:
1. Lethal and deadly are a typical example of English (vocabulary) as the language of doubles: lethal is from Latin letum (death) whereas dead is Germanic in origin. As always words of Latin origin are more formal (written register) than those of Germanic origin (spoken register)
2. deadly can also mean boring like: a deadly conversation. This is figurative in use.
3. Lethal can collocate as follows:
A lethal blow/injection/poison/weapon
Figuratively it can mean sth causing a lot of harm: the bankruptcy of the company dealt a lethal blow to the working population.

Deadly can collocate as follows:
Deadly look, deadly earnest/serious, deadly pale,deadly dull

[DCPaco]

In addition to what DCPaco said, 'deadly' can also be used when something is ruined, but physical death does not result- a mistake can be deadly, which might ruin your career, but without resulting in your death, though there would be no risk of physical death.

PS, Welcome to the forum DCPaco.

Thank you TDOL :)

[jiang]

Dear DCPaco,

Thank you very much for your explanation. Now I see.

Jiang

Very good question. Lethal is used to describe those things that if applied are CERTAIN to cause death (and yes, as you have indicated "'something lethal' is more dangerous than 'a deadly thing'").
A lethal injection will cause death when applied.

When something is deadly, it may cause death; but, there is a slim chance that it may not. The venom of some snakes is deadly--because if the victim is treated, they might survive.

[jiang]

I see.

Jiang

Absolutely correct. :)

[jiang]

Dear Tdol,
Thank you very much for your explanation. Now I see.

Jiang

In addition to what DCPaco said, 'deadly' can also be used when something is ruined, but physical death does not result- a mistake can be deadly, which might ruin your career, but without resulting in your death, though there would be no risk of physical death.

PS, Welcome to the forum DCPaco.

[jiang]

Dear Dr.Jamshid Ibrahim,

Thank you very much for your explanation. Now I see.

Jiang

In addition to what has already been said I would like to add as follows:
1. Lethal and deadly are a typical example of English (vocabulary) as the language of doubles: lethal is from Latin letum (death) whereas dead is Germanic in origin. As always words of Latin origin are more formal (written register) than those of Germanic origin (spoken register)
2. deadly can also mean boring like: a deadly conversation. This is figurative in use.
3. Lethal can collocate as follows:
A lethal blow/injection/poison/weapon
Figuratively it can mean sth causing a lot of harm: the bankruptcy of the company dealt a lethal blow to the working population.

Deadly can collocate as follows:
Deadly look, deadly earnest/serious, deadly pale,deadly dull