Chapter 2 Word Choice
53
deadly vs. fatal, critically/fatally,
fatalities/casualties
Mrs. B begins today's lesson with part of a letter from a freelance
writer in Georgia:
"Are the words 'deadly' and 'fatal' interchangeable? I often hear
anchors and reporters reference a 'deadly' car accident, but then
find out that the driver, in fact, died.
"I had always been told that 'deadly' means POTENTIALLY
causing death, while 'fatal' means ACTUALLY causing death.
A car accident, by its very nature, would be 'deadly' in that it has
the potential to kill. But if someone does die, it should not be
referred to as 'deadly' anymore, but 'fatal.' Have I been wrong all
these years?"
Todd Brock, former grammar police chief in an Atlanta
newsroom
"Deadly" means something is likely to cause death.
v
The DEADLY fog caused a chain-reaction pileup; we don't yet
know if there were fatalities.
"Fatal" describes something that results in death.
v
The FATAL crash took the lives of the two Gallagher children.
And while we're on the subject of death and injury, make note of
these terms:
"Critically shot" means the person is serious ly wounded.
"Fatally shot" means he or she is dead.
"Fatalities" are deaths.
"Casualties" are those who are injured, wounded, dead, missing
or lost.
