silent killer
Undetected fatal danger
Silent killer refers to a disease or condition that progresses without obvious symptoms until it causes serious harm or death.
High blood pressure, diabetes, and certain cancers are commonly called silent killers because they develop undetected: Heart disease is a silent killer—get regular checkups.
The phrase extends to any danger that goes unnoticed: Carbon monoxide is the silent killer in poorly ventilated homes.
- hypertensionChronic elevated arterial pressure
- high blood pressureExcessive arterial force
- carbon monoxideToxic combustion byproduct gas
- carbon monoxide poisoningHemoglobin oxygen blockage illness
- asbestosFibrous fireproofing mineral
radon · diabetes · stroke · heart disease · undetected · lurking · insidious · stealth · poison · invisible · deadly · symptomless · undiagnosed · creeping · slow · slow burn · ticking time bomb · assassin
- stealthsneak, ninja, creep, spy, skulk
- Assassinsassassin, hitman, John Wilkes Booth, Lee Harvey Oswald, Brutus