noun
Common
mortality
mawr-TA-lih-tee
Mortality (noun) means the fact of being subject to death; the condition of eventually dying. Example: “Watching the old oak fall made her think about human mortality.”
noun
1
The fact of being subject to death; the condition of eventually dying.
"Watching the old oak fall made her think about human mortality."
"The illness made him confront his own mortality for the first time."
"Grief has a way of reminding the living of their mortality."
2
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 notesIn 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
Common pairings
infant mortality
mortality rate
face one's mortality
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Word forms
- Plural
- mortalities
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Watching the old oak fall made her think about human _____.
Etymology
From Old French mortalite, from Latin mortalitas, built from mors, "death" — the same root behind "mortal" and "murder".
Synonyms
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Related words
Rhymes for mortality
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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