1
: having a quality of ominous prophecy
a fateful remark
2
a
: involving momentous consequences : decisive
made his fateful decision to declare war—
W. L. Shirer
W. L. Shirer
b
3
: controlled by fate : foreordained
fatefulness
noun
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
Anna Werner looks back at a fateful string of shark encounters a hundred years ago that stirred the public imagination.
—David Morgan, CBS News, 20 June 2025
The fallout Bryant took a fateful step at the end of a game late in the 2013 season, his Achilles tendon rupturing in his left leg.
—Dan Woike, Los Angeles Times, 20 June 2025
Over the course of one fateful summer on Beechwood, the Sinclairs’ private island just off of Martha’s Vineyard, the horrifying truth about what happened to Cadence — along with a slew of other family secrets — is finally brought to light.
—Andy Swift, TVLine, 18 June 2025
That fateful June day has come to be known as Juneteenth, the main holiday celebrating the end of slavery in the United States.
—Leah L. Jones, Smithsonian Magazine, 18 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for fateful
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David Morgan, CBS News, 20 June 2025
The fallout Bryant took a fateful step at the end of a game late in the 2013 season, his Achilles tendon rupturing in his left leg.
—Dan Woike, Los Angeles Times, 20 June 2025
Over the course of one fateful summer on Beechwood, the Sinclairs’ private island just off of Martha’s Vineyard, the horrifying truth about what happened to Cadence — along with a slew of other family secrets — is finally brought to light.
—Andy Swift, TVLine, 18 June 2025
That fateful June day has come to be known as Juneteenth, the main holiday celebrating the end of slavery in the United States.
—Leah L. Jones, Smithsonian Magazine, 18 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for fateful
Cite this Entry
“Fateful.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fateful. Accessed 1 Jul. 2025.
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