terminally
adv.in a way that cannot be cured and will lead to death. It can also describe something that is failing completely and cannot be fixed.
adv.in a manner that is incurable or fatal; in an extreme or final state of decline.
“The patient is terminally ill and needs comfort care.”
“After years of mismanagement, the local factory was terminally unprofitable and had to close its doors.”
“While some analysts hoped for a recovery, the political movement appeared terminally fractured, with its core members unable to agree on even the most basic policy goals.”
Commonly modifies adjectives like 'ill', 'unprofitable', or 'boring' to indicate an irreversible state.
Learners often use the adjective 'terminal' instead of the adverb 'terminally' to modify another adjective.
“A shocking documentary about a woman who pretended her child was terminally ill.”
“Bill supporters argue improving care services and giving terminally ill people "autonomy" over their final weeks must go hand in hand.”
From terminal + -ly.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.