Origin: Latin suffix -al
Mortal has 8 different meanings across 2 categories:
A human; someone susceptible to death.
"As a mortal, I know that my life will eventually end."
In plain English: A mortal is someone who will eventually die because they are not immortal.
"The mortal feared that his life was coming to an end soon."
Susceptible to death by aging, sickness, injury, or wound; not immortal.
"Even though he was a powerful wizard, he remained mortal and would eventually die of old age."
In plain English: Mortal means something that is destined to die and cannot live forever.
"The mortal beauty of this flower will fade in just a few days."
Usage: Use mortal as an adjective before a noun like "wound" or "enemy," but place it after the verb when describing how something kills, such as in "the wound was mortal." Avoid confusing this with the adverb form by ensuring your sentence structure clearly indicates whether you are modifying a person's susceptibility to death or the intensity of an action.
Mortally; enough to cause death.
"The sniper's shot was mortal, striking the heart of the charging lion instantly."
In plain English: Mortally means so badly that it causes death.
"The project is mortally behind schedule because we missed two deadlines this week."
The word "mortal" comes from the Latin mortalis, which is derived from mors meaning death. It entered Middle English via Old French and replaced an older native term for deadly to describe something subject to dying or causing death.