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

Police in Northern California are investigating the circumstances around the killing of a 40-year-old New York Times executive who was fatally shot by his in-laws in a parking lot over the weekend, officials said. — Summer Lin, Los Angeles Times, 28 Sep. 2026

The man, whose identity was withheld until his family could be notified, fatally plunged from a mountainous area of Hyrum, Utah, east of Millville Canyon and east of the small city of Millville, Cache County Chief Sheriff’s Deputy Doyle Peck said. — Dennis Romero, NBC news, 28 Sep. 2026

Los Angeles County deputies fatally shot a man in Bellflower on Sunday afternoon after a woman was found dead inside a home in the area. — Dean Fioresi, CBS News, 28 Sep. 2026

Sacramento police said two women were shot Saturday afternoon, one of them fatally, near an indoor trampoline park on Arden Way. — Corey Schmidt, Sacbee.com, 27 Sep. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for fatally

• postnatally
• prenatally