From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishlife-threateningˈlife-ˌthreatening adjective a life-threatening situation, illness, or injury could cause a person to die → fatal► see thesaurus at serious
Examples from the Corpus
life-threatening• Initially, therefore, it is necessary to concentrate on the primary substance or process of addiction because this may be life-threatening.• Slipping and injuring yourself in the bath is not only painful but life-threatening.• Anxiety about life-threatening diseases, dead-end jobs and diminishing funds.• Whether they are driving too fast or drinking and driving or using life-threatening drugs, teenagers frequently engage in risk-taking behavior.• If the infection is unchecked, peritonitis may follow and gonorrhoea becomes a life-threatening emergency.• Its role in alleviating the pain and distress of non life-threatening illness is ignored.• The most critical is a life-threatening weakness in the aorta -- the major blood vessel from the heart. 