fateful

adjective

fate·​ful ˈfāt-fəl How to pronounce fateful (audio)
1
: having a quality of ominous prophecy
a fateful remark
2
a
: involving momentous consequences : decisive
made his fateful decision to declare warW. L. Shirer
3
: controlled by fate : foreordained
fatefully adverb
fatefulness noun
Choose the Right Synonym for fateful

ominous, portentous, fateful mean having a menacing or threatening aspect.

ominous implies having a menacing, alarming character foreshadowing evil or disaster.

ominous rumblings from the volcano

portentous suggests being frighteningly big or impressive but now seldom definitely connotes forewarning of calamity.

an eerie and portentous stillness

fateful suggests being of momentous or decisive importance.

the fateful conference that led to war

Examples of fateful in a Sentence

His life changed on that fateful November evening. Hundreds perished on that fateful day. Her campaign took a fateful turn.
Recent Examples on the Web The fateful wrench from the first-season finale cover-up surfaces, as does Del fretting over how to protect the murder suspect and son of his sometimes girlfriend Grace. Etan Vlessing, The Hollywood Reporter, 4 Mar. 2024 Her fortunes soon changed after a fateful run-in with the Wayans brothers at her day job. Andrew Walsh, EW.com, 29 Feb. 2024 In Minute by Minute: The Titan Sub Disaster, airing on the U.K.'s Channel 5 on March 6 and 7, viewers get a look into the fateful day the OceanGate submersible disappeared in the North Atlantic with five passengers aboard. Liza Esquibias, Peoplemag, 29 Feb. 2024 Several funds on our list completed fundraising in 2022, meaning the firms were likely investing from these pools in the fateful year of 2021. Luisa Beltran, Fortune, 28 Feb. 2024 The book’s fifteen chapters detail Holiday’s painful last year (June 1958 to July 1959), interspersed with flashbacks—breakthrough moments, key friendships, fateful decisions. Elizabeth Barber, Harper's Magazine, 2 Feb. 2024 But a bombshell lawsuit, followed by a fateful decision from a major sponsor, changed the course of the firm. Alex Weprin, The Hollywood Reporter, 7 Feb. 2024 Whenever this season ends, Clark — who grew up in West Des Moines, two hours from campus — will face a fateful decision: return to Iowa or go pro, where attention and TV viewership lag behind the college game? Matt Flegenheimer, New York Times, 6 Feb. 2024 While covering a kickoff classic between Boston College and Brigham Young, Nantz used that phone in 1985 to return a fateful call from CBS. Advertisement VIDEO | 01:17 Jim Nantz talks about the day he was hired at CBS This is a modal window. Sam Farmer, Los Angeles Times, 5 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'fateful.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1720, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of fateful was circa 1720

Dictionary Entries Near fateful

Cite this Entry

“Fateful.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fateful. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

fateful

adjective
fate·​ful ˈfāt-fəl How to pronounce fateful (audio)
1
: foretelling usually bad things to come
a fateful remark
2
: having serious results : important
a fateful decision
fatefully adverb
fatefulness noun

More from Merriam-Webster on fateful

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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