fateful

[ feyt-fuhl ]

adjective

1. having momentous significance or consequences; decisively important; portentous:

   a fateful meeting between the leaders of the two countries.

2. fatal, deadly, or disastrous.
3. controlled or determined by destiny; inexorable.
4. prophetic; ominous.

fateful

/ ˈfeɪtfʊl /

adjective

1. having important consequences; decisively important
2. bringing death or disaster
3. controlled by or as if by fate
4. prophetic

Derived Forms

• ˈfatefulness, noun
• ˈfatefully, adverb

Other Words From

• fateful·ly adverb
• fateful·ness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of fateful¹

First recorded in 1705–15; fate + -ful

Synonym Study

See ominous.

Example Sentences

He appreciated the way the number distills a complex dramatic scene into lyrics, collapsing “past, present and future in a packaged song form” that records the witness testimony of those who had incomplete knowledge of the fateful treaty signing that will redirect not just the fate of a nation but the course of world history.

From Los Angeles Times

Disconnected from the magnitude of this fateful moment, the danger of a fascist president leading a fanatical movement becomes an abstraction.

From Salon

The fateful question is, will the Democrats and the mainstream press continue to waste their energy being shocked, or will they change their strategy?

From Slate

In the poignant scene about her mom, Gunvalson collapsed on the floor and devolved into screams upon getting the fateful phone call.

From Los Angeles Times

On that fateful day in May 2018, Cimarron's nine-year-old sister found her lying on the floor of her parents’ bedroom with a gun by her side.

From BBC

Related Words

• calamitous
• cataclysmic
• catastrophic
• disastrous
• fatal