Link Centre Dictionary

fatal

fa·tal

UK/ˈfeɪ.təl/ US/ˈfeɪ.ɾɫ̩/ fairly common

adjective

2.

having momentous consequences; of decisive importance

  • “that fateful meeting of the U.N. when...it declared war on North Korea” Saturday Rev
  • “the fatal day of the election finally arrived”
Synonyms
Similar
3.

(of events) having extremely unfortunate or dire consequences; bringing ruin

  • “the stock market crashed on Black Friday”
  • “a calamitous defeat”
  • “the battle was a disastrous end to a disastrous campaign”
  • “such doctrines, if true, would be absolutely fatal to my theory” Charles Darwin
  • “it is fatal to enter any war without the will to win it” Douglas MacArthur
  • “a fateful error”
4.

controlled or decreed by fate; predetermined

  • “a fatal series of events”
Synonyms
Similar

Origin

From Middle French fatal, from Latin fātālis (“fatal”).

Phrases

  • fatal attraction
  • fatal familial insomnia
  • homme fatal

Related words

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.