Mortality
Rural hospitals, highway festival statistics, and census health tables all track this noun: the measurable share of those who did not survive the year.
Learn This WordMeaning
Death rate in a population.
Memory trick
MORT (death, as in mortuary) + ALITY: the measurable share of dying.
Examples
Infant mortality fell sharply.
The new rural hospital cut maternal mortality in the block within two years.
Road mortality statistics spike every festival season on the highway.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Etymology
From Latin mortalitas, from mortalis "subject to death." The count of those who did not survive the year.
Usage Notes
Health and data writing: infant mortality, maternal mortality, mortality rate. Always specify whose deaths and over what period.
Real-life contexts
Use in health: "Infant mortality is the headline indicator."
Use in data: "Mortality fell from 40 to 28 per thousand."
Use in essays: "Sanitation drives mortality down silently."
Common Mistakes
Mortality is the rate or the condition of being mortal; morbidity is illness. "Mortality fell" means fewer deaths, a success to report carefully.
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Part of Speech
noun
Difficulty
intermediateMonthly Searches
~40,000
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