fatal en · ADJ
Pronunciation
- [ˈfeɪ.ɾɫ̩] (General-American)
- (US) audio
- /ˈfeɪ.təl/
Etymology
From Middle French fatal, from Latin fātālis (“fatal”).
Meanings
-
(archaic, rare) Proceeding from, or appointed by, fate or destiny.
She mixed furniture with the same fatal profligacy as she mixed drinks, and this outrageous contact between things which were intended by Nature to be kept poles apart gave her an inexpressible thrill.
1935, George Goodchild, chapter 1, in Death on the Centre Court:
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(archaic, rare) Foreboding death or great disaster.
Such a scandal as the prosecution of a brother for forgery—with a verdict of guilty—is a most truly horrible, deplorable, fatal thing. It takes the respectability out of a family perhaps at a critical moment, when the family is just assuming the robes of respectability: […] it is a black spot which all the soaps ever advertised could never wash off.
1892, Walter Besant, “Prologue: Who is Edmund Gray?”, in The Ivory Gate […], New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers, […], →OCLC:
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Causing death or destruction.
For this reason, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that spinach be cooked at 160º for 15 seconds, which kills potentially fatal bacteria.
2021 July 1, Gregory McNamee, “Does spinach make you strong? Ask Popeye – and science”, in CNN, archived from the original on 11 Jun 2025:I shoot Mrs. Marlow expertly through the neck. This is not a fatal wound. The bullet misses every artery. She is paralyzed before it leaves her body. Which doesn’t mean she can’t feel pain. It just means she can’t do anything about it. This is my design.
2013 April 4, Hannibal, season 1, episode 1, spoken by Will Graham (Hugh Dancy):Author Rita Mae Brown consistently strings together short comical movie clips which may be fine for screenplays but fatal in novels. Unfortunately, Toder chooses to imitate this model and her story suffers.
1980 December 6, Cindy Rizzo, “Jewish, Lesbian, Feminist, Psychologist, Author--All of the above and more”, in Gay Community News, volume 8, number 20, page 9:a fatal wound; a fatal disease; that fatal day; a fatal mistake
Surprisingly, this analysis revealed that acute exposure to solvent vapors at concentrations below those associated with long-term effects appears to increase the risk of a fatal automobile accident. Furthermore, this increase in risk is comparable to the risk of death from leukemia after long-term exposure to benzene, another solvent, which has the well-known property of causing this type of cancer.
2013 July-August, Philip J. Bushnell, “Solvents, Ethanol, Car Crashes & Tolerance”, in American Scientist:
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Causing a sudden end to the running of a program.
a fatal error; a fatal exception
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| most fatal | Degree=Sup | lexicographic | |
| more fatal | Degree=Cmp | lexicographic |
Deriveds
fatalness · fatalism · fatal familial insomnia · unfatal · fatalist · homme fatal · nonfatal · fatalistic · fatalize · fatally · non-fatal · fatality · nonfatally · fatal attraction
Synonyms
impreventable · unforestallable · catastrophic · portentous · baleful · inevitable · harmful · lethal · ill-starred · bodeful · star-crossed · debacular · necessary · necessary · inauspicious · fatal · predictable · pernicious · cataclysmal · deadly · inauspicate · calamitous · inescapable · sullen · portentous · fatal · omenic · presageful · irresistible · augurous · fatal · foregone · woeful · inevitable · boding · deadly · devastating · avoidless · destructive · destructive · foreboding · ineluctable · prodigious · eradicative · sinister · unpreventable · lethal · calamitous · ill-fated · disastrous · mortal · certain · unescapable · disadventurous · inexorable · natural · terminal · brooding · ruinous · ill-boding · cataclysmic · nefastous · ill-omened · inauspicious · disastrous · ominous · presagious · unavoidable · extirpative · apocalyptic · dire · divine
Translations (86)
ru роково́й (proceeding from fate) · ru смерте́льный (causing death) · ru роково́й (causing death) · sl usoden (proceeding from fate) · ru роково́й (foreboding death) · cs osudný (foreboding death) · gl fatal (foreboding death) · it fatale (foreboding death) · fi tappava (causing death) · nl fataal (proceeding from fate) · gl fatal (proceeding from fate) · pt fatal (foreboding death) · ja 命取りの (causing death) · de tödlich (causing death) · es fatal (foreboding death) · io fatala (proceeding from fate) · nl fataal (foreboding death) · it fatale (proceeding from fate) · ar مُمِيت (causing death) · la exitiālis (causing death) · bg фатален (proceeding from fate) · fr fatal (foreboding death) · ca fatal (proceeding from fate) · es fatal (proceeding from fate) · fi kohtalokas (foreboding death) · de tödlich (foreboding death) · sl smrtonosen (causing death) · no fatal (foreboding death) · sl usoden (foreboding death) · it fatale (causing death) · gl fatal (causing death) · tr ölümcül (causing death) · nl fataal (causing death) · fi kohtalokas (causing death) · fi fataali (causing death) · sv dödlig (causing death) · sl usoden (causing death) · eo fatala (proceeding from fate) · la lētālis (causing death) · sq fatal (causing death) · mk смртоносен (causing death) · no skjebnebestemt (proceeding from fate) · he קטלני (causing death) · de verhängnisvoll (proceeding from fate) · cs osudný (causing death) · lv nāvējošs (causing death) · sv fatal (causing death) · pt fatal (proceeding from fate) · es mortal (causing death) · fr fatal (causing death) · la mortifer (foreboding death) · cs osudový (proceeding from fate) · mi whakamate (causing death) · sv kritisk (computing: causing a sudden end to the running of a program) · ca fatal (foreboding death) · mn үйлтэй (proceeding from fate) · id fatal (foreboding death) · no skjebnesvanger (foreboding death) · fr fatal (proceeding from fate) · ja 致死の (causing death) · lv nāvīgs (causing death) · id fatal (causing death) · ru фата́льный (proceeding from fate) · grc θανάσιμος (causing death) · es fatal (causing death) · pt fatal (causing death) · no fatal (causing death) · fi kohtalokas (proceeding from fate) · sv ödesbestämd (proceeding from fate) · de fatal (proceeding from fate) · la mortifer (causing death) · sq fatal (proceeding from fate) · pl fatalny (proceeding from fate) · fi fataali (computing: causing a sudden end to the running of a program) · sv dödsbringande (foreboding death) · bg съдбоносен (proceeding from fate) · ca fatal (causing death) · eo mortiga (causing death) · tr kritik (computing: causing a sudden end to the running of a program) · tr kaçınılmaz (proceeding from fate) · ja 宿命的な (proceeding from fate) · ar قَاتِل (causing death) · tr mukadder (proceeding from fate) · bg смъртоносен (causing death) · fi tuhoisa (causing death) · la fatalis (proceeding from fate)