fatalistic

[ feyt-l-is-tik ]

adjective

1. demonstrating a belief that all events are inevitable, so one’s choices and actions make no difference:

   Fear, uncertainty, and a feeling of powerlessness contribute to a fatalistic attitude among many refugees when it comes to seeking justice.

2. Philosophy. advancing the idea that all events are naturally predetermined or subject to fate:

   A fatalistic view, which denies the possibility of free will, makes some sense scientifically.

Other Words From

• fa·tal·is·ti·cal·ly adverb
• non·fa·tal·is·tic adjective
• qua·si‐fa·tal·is·tic adjective
• qua·si‐fa·tal·is·ti·cal·ly adverb
• un·fa·tal·is·tic adjective
• un·fa·tal·is·ti·cal·ly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of fatalistic¹

fatalist ( def ) + -ic

Example Sentences

“You know what to do, Americans. We can avoid this nightmare. Never become resigned or fatalistic. That’s what they want,” she wrote on X.

From Salon

Even the most fatalistic Labourites, for so long determined to avoid complacency, are beginning to admit that they believe government is within their grasp.

From BBC

“Like real depression, where it’s kind of scaring me too a little bit because it feels really fatalistic, it feels really ‘end of.’”

From Los Angeles Times

And we don’t want to be fatalistic in thinking that you are either born with entrepreneurship or you’re not.

From BBC

Swift said the album was an anthology of new works reflecting "events, opinions and sentiments from a fleeting and fatalistic moment in time - one that was both sensational and sorrowful in equal measure".

From BBC

Related Words

• bleak
• depressed
• despondent
• discouraged
• gloomy
• glum
• sad