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I came over three words in a particular case where I feel that there's no real difference. Here's the three variants of the sentence:

He was fatally wounded.

He was gravely wounded.

He was mortally wounded.

Can anyone please explain what's the difference here? Because I feel all three convey the same meaning: he was wounded, and is about to die of his injuries. Am I correct? Or, is there actually a difference between those three? Thanks in advance!

Note: I'm relatively new to this site, so please tell me if my posts are good enough or of use to the community and if not how to improve.

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    You needed to list the definitions you found first. Gravely wounded means he is not dead yet.
    – Yosef Baskin
    Commented Jul 29 at 0:05
  • @YosefBaskin I agree, but doesn't the other two also mean he's not dead yet?
    – Luke L
    Commented Jul 29 at 0:06
  • If not dead, he was not shot fatally. Only way to call it fatal is to die.
    – Yosef Baskin
    Commented Jul 29 at 0:07
  • @YosefBaskin Perhaps there's some difference in order of these three words, i.e. gravely then fatally and then mortally, or something like that?
    – Luke L
    Commented Jul 29 at 0:07
  • 2
    There’s always a dictionary, when things get really tough.
    – Xanne
    Commented Jul 29 at 0:40

1 Answer 1

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Fatally wounded and mortally wounded means he died.

Gravely wounded means he was seriously wounded but may or may not have died.

("Fatally = mortally > gravely".)

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3
  • Thanks for your answer! It is exactly what I'm looking for.
    – Luke L
    Commented Jul 29 at 3:44
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    You should know, though, that the fatally and mortally wounded may not die immediately.
    – Xanne
    Commented Jul 29 at 5:21
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    To me, fatally means that he has died, mortally could mean that he is still alive but will certainly die soon.
    – Kate Bunting
    Commented Jul 29 at 7:08

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