noun Common

mortality

mawr-TA-lih-tee

Mortality (noun) means the fact of being subject to death; the condition of eventually dying. Example: “The illness made him confront his own mortality for the first time.”

noun

The fact of being subject to death; the condition of eventually dying.

"The illness made him confront his own mortality for the first time."

"Grief has a way of reminding the living of their mortality."

The rate of death in a population, usually measured per year or per some fixed number of people.

"Infant mortality has fallen sharply over the past century."

"The report tracked mortality rates across different age groups."

How to use mortality

Learner’s notes

In plain EnglishEither the simple fact that all living things die, or a statistic showing how many people in a group die over time.

Common mistake

Easy to mix up with "morality" (right and wrong) — mortality is about death, morality is about ethics.

Easily confused with

morality →

Common pairings

infant mortality mortality rate face one's mortality

Word forms

mortalities plural

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Fill the gap

Can you complete this real example?

The illness made him confront his own _____ for the first time.

Etymology

From Old French mortalite, from Latin mortalitas, built from mors, "death" — the same root behind "mortal" and "murder".

Origin: Latin

Synonyms

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death dying transience impermanence fatality perishability

Related words

life death moment killing birth dying fatality emergent

Rhymes for mortality

city pity deity acuity parity entity brevity opacity paucity ability quality reality

See all rhymes for mortality →

Frequently asked questions

What does “mortality” mean?

The word “mortality” means the fact of being subject to death; the condition of eventually dying. In plain terms, either the simple fact that all living things die, or a statistic showing how many people in a group die over time.

How do you pronounce “mortality”?

“Mortality” is pronounced mawr-TA-lih-tee (/mɔɹˈtælɪti/ in IPA).

How do you use “mortality” in a sentence?

Here is “mortality” used in a sentence: “The illness made him confront his own mortality for the first time.”

What part of speech is “mortality”?

“Mortality” is a noun.

Where does the word “mortality” come from?

The word “mortality” comes from Latin. From Old French mortalite, from Latin mortalitas, built from mors, "death" — the same root behind "mortal" and "murder".

Is “mortality” a common word?

“Mortality” is a fairly common word in modern English.

How many meanings does “mortality” have?

“Mortality” has 2 distinct senses listed in this dictionary. The most common is: the fact of being subject to death; the condition of eventually dying.

What is the difference between mortality and morbidity?

Mortality refers to death, especially the rate of death in a population. Morbidity refers to disease or ill health, so morbidity measures how many people are sick while mortality measures how many die.

What is the difference between mortality and mortality rate?

On its own, mortality can mean the general condition of being subject to death. "Mortality rate" is the narrower statistical sense: the number of deaths in a population over a set period, such as per year or per 1,000 people.

What is the difference between mortality and immortality?

Mortality is the condition of being subject to death, the fate of all living things. Immortality is the opposite, the state of living forever or never dying, formed by adding the prefix "im-."

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