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

Investigators have obtained video footage showing the suspects and their ATVs driving, shining a spotlight on the deer and then fatally shooting the animal. —CBS News, 3 Dec. 2025

Hours later, officers responded to reports of a car fire in Chino, where the doctor's son, Keith Cordes, 37, of Kentucky, had fatally shot himself after setting his car ablaze, police said, per ABC News. —Kc Baker, PEOPLE, 3 Dec. 2025

Cincinnati police are still looking for a person who fatally struck an East Price Hill man and fled the crash on Thanksgiving. —Staff Report, Cincinnati Enquirer, 1 Dec. 2025

Federal agents shot several people, at least one fatally. —Zoe Sottile, CNN Money, 1 Dec. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for fatally

• postnatally
• prenatally