fatal

[ feyt-l ]

adjective

1. causing or capable of causing death; mortal; deadly:

   a fatal accident;

   a fatal dose of poison.

   Antonyms: life-giving

2. causing destruction, misfortune, ruin, or failure:

   The withdrawal of funds was fatal to the project.

   Synonyms: devastating, catastrophic, calamitous, disastrous, ruinous

3. decisively important; fateful:

   The fatal day finally arrived.

4. proceeding from or decreed by fate; inevitable:

   a fatal series of events.

5. influencing or concerned with fate; fatalistic.
6. Obsolete. condemned by fate; doomed.
7. Obsolete. prophetic.

fatal

/ ˈfeɪtəl /

adjective

1. resulting in or capable of causing death

   a fatal accident

2. bringing ruin; disastrous
3. decisively important; fateful
4. decreed by fate; destined; inevitable

Other Words From

• fatal·ness noun
• non·fatal adjective
• non·fatal·ly adverb
• non·fatal·ness noun
• quasi-fatal adjective
• quasi-fatal·ly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of fatal¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English or directly from Old French, from Latin fātālis “ordained by fate, decreed”; fate, -al ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of fatal¹

C14: from Old French fatal or Latin fātālis , from fātum , see fate

Synonym Study

Fatal, deadly, lethal, mortal apply to something that has caused or is capable of causing death. Fatal may refer to either the future or the past; in either case, it emphasizes inevitability and the inescapable—the disastrous, whether death or dire misfortune: The accident was fatal. Such a mistake would be fatal. Deadly looks to the future, and suggests that which is likely to cause death (though not inevitably so): a deadly poison, disease. Like deadly, lethal looks to the future but, like many other words of Latin origin, suggests a more technical usage: a lethal dose; a gas that is lethal. Mortal looks to the past and refers to death that has actually occurred: He received a mortal wound. The disease proved to be mortal.

Example Sentences

USC was among the schools that made a fatal mistake in their pitch: They told the high school senior they wanted him as a defensive back, taking them out of the running.

From Los Angeles Times

A supervision order for that offence had ended three weeks before the fatal attack on Mr Rollinson.

From BBC

A man has pleaded guilty following a fatal XL bully attack.

From BBC

When attempting to detect skin cancers, for example, mistakes are often made by the human examiners who confuse very similar-looking but harmless conditions with potentially fatal melanomas.

From Science Daily

The infection can clear up on its own and lasts between 14 and 21 days, but in some cases has been fatal, particularly for vulnerable groups including small children.

From BBC

Related Words

• calamitous
• cataclysmic
• catastrophic
• destructive
• disastrous
• fateful
• incurable
• inevitable
• malignant
• mortal
• poisonous
• ruinous
• virulent

More About Fatal

What does fatal mean?

Fatal literally means deadly—capable of causing death.

Similar words are deadly, lethal, and mortal—though they are often used in different ways.

Fatal can also be used in a figurative way to mean capable of causing the destruction, ruin, or failure of someone or something, as in Failing to update their products proved to be a fatal mistake for the company. 

Example: These changes will hopefully greatly reduce the number of fatal car accidents that occur on highways.

Where does fatal come from?

The first records of fatal in English come from the second half of the 1300s. It comes from the Latin fātālis, meaning “of fate.” Fatal was originally used in English to refer to things affected or doomed by fate—and it can still be used this way, though it is uncommon. It wasn’t until around the 1500s that fatal started to be used to refer to things that can cause death or ruin.

Most commonly, fatal is applied to things that can cause death, such as a fatal dose of drugs, or things that have resulted in death, such as a fatal accident. A mistake can be described as fatal if it literally causes someone to die. But the phrase fatal mistake more often refers to something that caused the destruction of something, as in The chaotic press conference ended up being fatal to the campaign. 

Fatal can mean “fateful,” but this is much less commonly used than its other senses. However, it is used in this way in the term fatalism, referring to a belief that everything is inevitable and determined by fate. Someone with such a view can be described as fatalistic.

Did you know ... ?

What are some other forms related to fatal?

• fatally (adverb)
• nonfatally (adverb)
• fatalness (noun)
• nonfatal (adjective)
• nonfatalness (noun)

What are some synonyms for fatal?

• deadly
• lethal
• mortal
• catastrophic
• ruinous

What are some words that share a root or word element with fatal? 

 

• fatality
• fate
• femme fatale

What are some words that often get used in discussing fatal?

• death
• accident
• wound
• injury
• error
• mistake
• prove
• importance

How is fatal used in real life?

Fatal is most often used in a literal (and very serious) way to refer to something that caused or can cause death.

One of the men accused in the fatal shooting of Ahmaud Arbery was involved in a previous prosecution of Arbery, according to a letter written by a prosecutor who has since recused himself from the case https://t.co/1JrUCUckQw

— CNN (@CNN) May 9, 2020

MORE: For context, this is considered a fatal dose of fentanyl – approx. 2.5 milligrams.

Fentanyl is 50-100 times more powerful than morphine, and highly addictive.

Experts says users are seeking out dealers who’ve caused fatal overdoses all in order to secure a stronger high. pic.twitter.com/Uz5gaseseQ

— Kevin Lewis (@ABC7Kevin) August 3, 2018

Remember that success isn’t final, failure isn’t fatal. It’s the courage to continue that counts 🦍

— Burna Boy (@burnaboy) January 17, 2020

 

 

Try using fatal!

Which of the following words is NOT a synonym for fatal?

A. lethal
B. deadly
C. trivial
D. ruinous