fatally

adverb

fa·​tal·​ly ˈfā-tᵊl-ē How to pronounce fatally (audio)
1
: in a way determined by fate
2
: in a manner suggesting fate or an act of fate: such as
a
: in a manner resulting in death : mortally
fatally wounded
b
: beyond repair : irrevocably
c
: in a manner resulting in ruin or evil
it is fatally easy to pass off our prejudices as our opinionsW. F. Hambly
d
: in a manner that cannot be easily resisted
thinks she is fatally attractiveJ. W. Krutch

Examples of fatally in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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The criminal justice system knew Decarlos Brown long before he was accused of fatally stabbing Iryna Zarutska, a Ukrainian refugee, in an unprovoked attack on a Charlotte, North Carolina, train in August. Amanda Lee Myers, USA Today, 11 Sep. 2025 Lyles weathered criticism from across the country over the death of Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska, who was fatally stabbed while riding a light rail in South End. Nick Sullivan, Charlotte Observer, 10 Sep. 2025 Hours before the incident, Hinton and other family members had been shown body camera video of Ryan Hinton being fatally shot by a Cincinnati police officer. Kevin Grasha, The Enquirer, 10 Sep. 2025 About 150 members of Cincinnati's Ethiopian community stood in a parking lot where two sisters and a recent university graduate – each with budding professional and academic careers – were fatally shot. Matthew Cupelli, Cincinnati Enquirer, 10 Sep. 2025 See All Example Sentences for fatally

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of fatally was in the 15th century

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Cite this Entry

“Fatally.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fatally. Accessed 15 Sep. 2025.

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