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 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
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His shot missed, deflecting glass onto Long Khac Nguyen’s face and setting him off on an immediate rampage, shooting several hostages, three fatally. Graham Womack, Sacbee.com, 4 Apr. 2026 Three teenagers are accused of fatally shooting a 20-year-old Detroit man on the city's west side Monday night, according to the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office. Nick Lentz, CBS News, 4 Apr. 2026 In October, a Border Patrol agent shot and wounded Marimar Martinez in Chicago, and in January, a Border Patrol agent fatally shot Alex Pretti in Minneapolis just weeks after an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer fatally shot Renée Good in the same city. Alex Riggins, San Diego Union-Tribune, 3 Apr. 2026 About 40 minutes before Chatfield was shot, a 22-year-old man was fatally shot in the head following an argument outside a Bronx bodega. Emma Seiwell, New York Daily News, 3 Apr. 2026 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 5 Apr. 2026.

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