fatally

adverb

fa·​tal·​ly ˈfā-tᵊl-ē 

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 opinions.

—W. F. Hambly

d

: in a manner that cannot be easily resisted

… thinks she is fatally attractive …

—J. W. Krutch

Examples of fatally in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Once at the front of the Chico branch of the Butte County Library, Sayer fatally shot a man at the main door and another inside, authorities said. —Louis Casiano, FOXNews.com, 24 June 2026

Alexander was heading home after a night out when she was fatally shot. —Darrell Smith, Sacbee.com, 24 June 2026

About 24 hours before that triple shooting, two men were shot — one fatally — near the Wedge Community Co-op off Lyndale Avenue South and West 22nd Street. —Wcco Staff, CBS News, 23 June 2026

Another photo was overlaid with a Black Lives Matter filter in remembrance of Atatiana Jefferson, the Black woman who was fatally shot by a Fort Worth police officer in 2019. —Kamal Morgan, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 23 June 2026

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for fatally

• postnatally
• prenatally