deathly

Meanings

1. 1
   adj

   resembling or suggesting death, especially by being extremely pale, still, cold, or unpleasant

   His face turned deathly pale when he opened the letter.

2. 2
   adj

   causing, capable of causing, or closely associated with death; literary

   A deathly odor rose from the newly disturbed earth.

3. 3
   adv

   to an extreme degree that resembles or suggests death

   The corridor became deathly quiet as the footsteps approached.

From Middle English dethlich and Old English deathlic, formed from death + -ly. The adjective is ancient; its later adverbial use intensifies qualities such as paleness, cold, or silence by comparing them with death.

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