How do you pronounce deathly?

The recorded pronunciation is /ˈdɛθli/.

Where does deathly come from?

It is traced to Middle English.

deathly

/ˈdɛθli/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.91 in modern English

Syllables: death-ly
IPA: /ˈdɛθli/

Scrabble Score

Letters

Syllables

Unique Chars

Meaning

adj

Appearing as though dead, or on the verge of death.

adj

Deadly, fatal, causing death.

adj

Extreme.

adv

In a way that resembles death.

adv

Extremely, dreadfully.

Example Sentences

"He has a deathly pallor."
"I rushed towards her, and embraced her with ardour; but the deathly languor and coldness of the limbs told me, that what I now held in my arms had ceased to be the Elizabeth whom I had loved and cherished."
"He has a deathly fear of crocodiles."
"He was deathly pale."
"The water was deathly cold."
"He was deathly afraid of crocodiles."

Etymology

From Middle English dethlich, from Old English dēaþlīċ, equivalent to death + -ly.

Origin

Source language: Middle English

Word Breakdown

Root: dethlich, dēaþlīċ
Suffix: death

Regional Pronunciation

British English: /ˈdɛθli/

Inflected Forms

deathlier (comparative) more deathly (comparative) deathliest (superlative) most deathly (superlative)

Derived Forms

deathlily deathliness

Phrases

deathly pale

Synonyms

deathlike deadly mortal extremely exceedingly super whopping