[Vocabulary] lethal

[Narkises]

Hi,

Is "lethal" a synonym for "fatal"? Do "lethal" and "fatal" have the same meaning? I wonder if they are different.

Thanks.

 

[bhaisahab]

They are not synonyms. Have you looked up the words in a dictionary?

 

[Narkises]

Yes. And both of them mean "causing death". Right?
Please explain why they are not synonyms.

 

[Narkises]

fatal desease
fatal weapon

 

[Matthew Wai]

I would say 'a fatal disease' but 'a lethal weapon'.

 

[Skrej]

The first three dictionaries I looked at list them as synonyms.

Merriam Webster - Note the discussion lower down the page on the differences between several related synonyms.
theFreeDictionary.com
Dictionary.com

Plus, an online thesaurus lists them as synonyms.

 

[Matthew Wai]

Can we call the knife in a dead body the fatal weapon, as it has directly resulted in the death?

 

[Raymott]

And we don't talk about fatal illnesses as being lethal. So even if they mean the same thing (causing death), they're used in different contexts.

 

[Narkises]

Excuse me, but I don't learn them by heart. I think I should memorise their collocations.

 

[Narkises]

Excuse me, but I don't learn them by heart. I think I should memorise their collocations.

For example, "lethal injection". I think I should memorise it.
I put "desease " and "injection" in one category. So I made a mistake.

 

[emsr2d2]

Note the correct spelling of "di​sease".

 

[Matthew Wai]

A lethal weapon is one that causes fatal injury.
A lethal injection is one that causes a fatal condition.

Is it correct to say so?

 

[bhaisahab]

I would say that a lethal weapon is one that is capable of causing a fatal injury.
A lethal injection is an injection that causes death. In the case of judicial killing in the USA and some other countries it is an injection specifically designed to cause death.

 

[Matthew Wai]

In case of a medical incident where a wrong injection has caused death, can we call it a fatal injection?

 

[bhaisahab]

I suppose that's possible, matthew.