as in disastrous
bringing about ruin or misfortune
a fateful encounter with a confidence man that they would long regret
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Recent Examples of fateful
The disaster led to a fateful decision that many now believe held the city back — something that will finally be corrected this year, on May 8.
—
Deputy Managing Editor, Los Angeles Times, 13 Mar. 2026
Emt made his Paralympic debut in Pyeongchang in 2018, five years after that fateful encounter.
—Rachel Treisman, NPR, 10 Mar. 2026
One fateful day when the newsroom was short-staffed, bosses asked the green college student to step in.
—Madeleine Marr, Miami Herald, 6 Mar. 2026
Evans’ whirlwind legal problems all stem from the same fateful day.
—Nate Gartrell, Mercury News, 5 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for fateful
Deputy Managing Editor, Los Angeles Times, 13 Mar. 2026
Emt made his Paralympic debut in Pyeongchang in 2018, five years after that fateful encounter.
—Rachel Treisman, NPR, 10 Mar. 2026
One fateful day when the newsroom was short-staffed, bosses asked the green college student to step in.
—Madeleine Marr, Miami Herald, 6 Mar. 2026
Evans’ whirlwind legal problems all stem from the same fateful day.
—Nate Gartrell, Mercury News, 5 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for fateful
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fateful
Adjective
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So had Florida not decided to tweak its offense to emphasize paint touches, dwindling the bricks its guards had regularly tossed through the first two disastrous months, this could have been a historic season.—
Noah White,
Miami Herald,
22 Mar. 2026
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Part of the rush to take up flags may be the disastrous economy in Britain.—
Simon Constable,
FOXNews.com,
22 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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The House of Representatives has twice passed such a bill with a handful of Democrats signing on, but in the Senate, Democrats have held up the bill over demands for Immigrations and Customs Enforcement reforms after the fatal shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti by federal agents in January.—
Arden Farhi,
CBS News,
25 Mar. 2026
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The collision was the first fatal crash at Laguardia Airport in 34 years.—
Brady Knox,
The Washington Examiner,
24 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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One bad matchup, one bad shooting night, one unfortunate stretch of five minutes can define a season’s ending.—
Mike Bianchi,
The Orlando Sentinel,
21 Mar. 2026
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And there are a slew of new candidates for the blood cannon in Ready or Not 2, whose baddies are a more wide-ranging lot than the Le Domases, the game-company-owning clan that Grace (Samara Weaving) is unfortunate enough to marry into in the original Ready or Not.—
Alison Willmore,
Vulture,
20 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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The line between the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and Hezbollah is more blurred than ever after the latter’s catastrophic performance in the 2023-2024 war with Israel.—
Brady Knox,
The Washington Examiner,
26 Mar. 2026
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The catastrophic 1969 offshore oil spill in Santa Barbara killed thousands of sea birds and marine mammals.—
Patt Morrison,
Los Angeles Times,
26 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Fateful.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fateful. Accessed 28 Mar. 2026.
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