lethality

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   the capacity or quality of being able to cause death

   Protective equipment greatly reduced the lethality of the exposure.

2. 2
   noun

   the degree to which a disease, weapon, substance, or other agent is deadly

   Researchers compared the lethality of the virus across several age groups.

From lethal + -ity. Lethal comes from Latin letalis ("deadly"), related to letum ("death"); the noun can denote either deadly capacity or its measured degree.

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