Synonym Chooser

How does the adjective fateful differ from other similar words?

The words ominous and portentous are common synonyms of fateful. While all three words mean "having a menacing or threatening aspect," fateful suggests being of momentous or decisive importance.

the fateful conference that led to war

Where would ominous be a reasonable alternative to fateful?

Although the words ominous and fateful have much in common, ominous implies having a menacing, alarming character foreshadowing evil or disaster.

ominous rumblings from the volcano

When is it sensible to use portentous instead of fateful?

While the synonyms portentous and fateful are close in meaning, portentous suggests being frighteningly big or impressive but now seldom definitely connotes forewarning of calamity.

an eerie and portentous stillness

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of fateful The duo pushes the concept of illusion versus reality to the extreme, personally and professionally, until tragedy reframes and opens a mystery surrounding their last fateful Las Vegas show. Rosy Cordero, Deadline, 10 Oct. 2025 The episode ends with a flashback to when Henry and Julia left for their fateful trip to Inverness. Kimberly Roots, TVLine, 10 Oct. 2025 Six days after spinning eight scoreless frames against the Boston Red Sox, rookie sensation Cam Schlittler will go for the Yankees, while the Blue Jays will go with a bullpen game started by Louis Varland — the same pitcher who allowed that fateful home run to Judge. Ryan Morik, FOXNews.com, 8 Oct. 2025 Castellanos played a single into a double in the fateful four-run seventh inning because even 36-year-old Freddie Freeman knows to take the extra base on Castellanos. Matt Gelb, New York Times, 7 Oct. 2025 See All Example Sentences for fateful
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fateful
Adjective
  • The Arizona Wildcats clobbered Colorado, 52-17, marking another disastrous defeat for Coach Prime.
    Ryan Gaydos, FOXNews.com, 2 Nov. 2025
  • Gottlieb’s team, picked last in the Horizon League preseason poll, hopes to improve on last year’s disastrous 4-28 campaign.
    Gary Bedore, Kansas City Star, 2 Nov. 2025
Adjective
  • Yet a drumbeat of Mamdani’s past statements about Israel did not prove politically fatal in New York City in 2025.
    Philip Elliott, Time, 5 Nov. 2025
  • The special explores theories about why the thieves targeted specific displays, who orchestrated this brazen operation and which fatal flaws in their plan ultimately led to their capture.
    Peter White, Deadline, 5 Nov. 2025
Adjective
  • Thus a wonderful section on The Jew of Malta climaxes in an unfortunate vision of the text as a secret message to Lord Strange, a wealthy and important patron of the arts.
    Isaac Butler, The Atlantic, 3 Nov. 2025
  • Such an event, let alone two within less than an hour of each other, is both unfortunate and potentially very suspicious.
    Christopher McFadden, Interesting Engineering, 3 Nov. 2025
Adjective
  • Drone footage showed catastrophic flooding that turned streets into rivers, submerged homes and overturned cars as Typhoon Kalmaegi, known locally as Tino, dumped more than a month’s worth of rain in only 24 hours in some areas.
    Helen Regan, CNN Money, 6 Nov. 2025
  • However, this approach defeats the primary purpose of insurance, which is to protect against catastrophic costs in the event of an unexpected medical crisis.
    Jasmine Laws, MSNBC Newsweek, 6 Nov. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Fateful.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fateful. Accessed 6 Nov. 2025.

More from Merriam-Webster on fateful

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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