MEANING
Having important consequences for the future, usually harmful or unfortunate ones.
Use it for
marking a decision that leads toward tragedy; foreshadowing a moment whose consequences cannot yet be seen; distinguishing a life-changing event from an immediately fatal oneMarks a moment whose consequences shape the future, rather than describing immediate lethality. Writing functions: Death / Mortality.
Words that belong together
- a fateful decision
- a fateful encounter
- a fateful night
On the page
On that fateful afternoon, she left the letter where her brother would find it.
The narrator returns repeatedly to the fateful decision to postpone the journey.
Word forms
- Base
- fateful
Usage notes
Adjective: a fateful day, decision, meeting, or moment. Often before the noun. Not normally graded when marking a decisive event; fateful does not itself mean that someone died. Register: neutral. Commonness: moderately common (dictionary-informed qualitative editorial estimate; not a measured frequency).
Practice this word in a sentenceYour margin notes
Keep a thought for later. Sign in to save privately.