sublethal

/sʌbˈliθəl/
adjective
  1. Not strong enough to cause death, but still harmful or damaging.
    • The pesticide had a sublethal effect on the bees, making them disoriented but not killing them.
    • Scientists studied the sublethal impacts of pollution on fish behavior.
    • Even sublethal doses of the chemical can cause long-term health problems.
Synonyms
What does "sublethal" mean? | whatsthatwordmean | whatsthatwordmean