1
: the will or principle or determining cause by which things in general are believed to come to be as they are or events to happen as they do : destiny
… fate sometimes deals a straight flush … he had no idea that he would become the right man in the right place at the right time …—
June Goodfield
June Goodfield2
a
: an inevitable and often adverse outcome, condition, or end
Her fate was to remain in exile.
3
a
: final outcome
Congress decided the bill's fate by a single vote.
b
: the expected result of normal development
prospective fate of embryonic cells
c
: the circumstances that befall someone or something
did not know the fate of her former classmates
4
Fates plural
: the three goddesses, Atropos, Clotho, and Lachesis, who determine the course of human life in classical mythology
Synonyms
Examples of fate in a Sentence
Noun
… the fate of our species is bound up with those of countless others, with which we share a habitat that we cannot long dominate …
—John Gray, Times Literary Supplement, 11 Sept. 1992
So what went wrong? I ask Syd again, glancing ahead to the inevitable end. What quirk of fate, this time round, Syd, checked the great man's stride?
—John le Carré, A Perfect Spy, 1986
Often there is a specified character on whom a work hinges and whose fate we follow, a Raskolnikov or a Hamlet …
—Robert Penn Warren, Democracy and Poetry, 1975
The money goes down one-two-three on the table, fives and tens and twenties, and the wheel begins to spin. Round and round she goes, where she stops nobody knows. It's up to fate. Kismet, as they say.
—Mordecai Richler, The Apprenticeship Of Duddy Kravitz, 1959
They thought they would never see each other again, but fate brought them back together.
a surprising turn of fate
One company went bankrupt, and a similar fate befell the other.
Her fate was sealed by the marriage arrangement made in her youth.
Verb
Given what was going on when the magazine was started, Utne Reader seems fated to have happened—it was simply an idea that fit the times.
—Eric Utne, Utne Reader, March/April 1994
It was during this interregnum between the acquisition of regional power and the actual use of it that Henderson was fated to enter the picture.
—Robert D. Kaplan, The Arabists, 1993
Who are my viewing companions at this hour? Dazed and confused, we are isolated in sunken couches, empty beds and cheap hotel rooms across this crumbling nation, one through MTV but fated never to meet.
—Hugh Gallagher, Rolling Stone, 29 Apr. 1993
the warning that the lack of an advanced education will fate a person to a lifetime of below-average earnings
John Gray, Times Literary Supplement, 11 Sept. 1992
So what went wrong? I ask Syd again, glancing ahead to the inevitable end. What quirk of fate, this time round, Syd, checked the great man's stride?
—John le Carré, A Perfect Spy, 1986
Often there is a specified character on whom a work hinges and whose fate we follow, a Raskolnikov or a Hamlet …
—Robert Penn Warren, Democracy and Poetry, 1975
The money goes down one-two-three on the table, fives and tens and twenties, and the wheel begins to spin. Round and round she goes, where she stops nobody knows. It's up to fate. Kismet, as they say.
—Mordecai Richler, The Apprenticeship Of Duddy Kravitz, 1959
They thought they would never see each other again, but fate brought them back together.
a surprising turn of fate
One company went bankrupt, and a similar fate befell the other.
Her fate was sealed by the marriage arrangement made in her youth.
Verb
Given what was going on when the magazine was started, Utne Reader seems fated to have happened—it was simply an idea that fit the times.
—Eric Utne, Utne Reader, March/April 1994
It was during this interregnum between the acquisition of regional power and the actual use of it that Henderson was fated to enter the picture.
—Robert D. Kaplan, The Arabists, 1993
Who are my viewing companions at this hour? Dazed and confused, we are isolated in sunken couches, empty beds and cheap hotel rooms across this crumbling nation, one through MTV but fated never to meet.
—Hugh Gallagher, Rolling Stone, 29 Apr. 1993
the warning that the lack of an advanced education will fate a person to a lifetime of below-average earnings
Recent Examples on the WebMike Hixenbaugh, NBC News, 18 Apr. 2024
The reaction scene plays out not with churning pathos but instead like TikToks of people watching Ned Stark meet his surprising fate or videos of fans in a sports bar groaning in unison.
—Margaret Lyons, New York Times, 18 Apr. 2024
As fate — or the Instagram algorithm — would have it, the video ended up on the Explore page of Ashley Dickson, a vintage-lover in Arizona, who immediately noticed that one of the dresses had come from her own closet.
—Virginia Chamlee, Peoplemag, 17 Apr. 2024
Now the fate of the deteriorating site is in limbo.
—Joe Marusak, Charlotte Observer, 16 Apr. 2024
Seven jurors have been selected so far to decide the legal fate of the first U.S. president ever to face criminal trial.
—Julia Reinstein, ABC News, 16 Apr. 2024
The day began with pretrial arguments -- including over a potential fine for Trump -- before moving in the afternoon into jury selection, where the parties will decide who among them might be picked to determine the legal fate of the former, and potentially future, American president.
—Jennifer Peltz, arkansasonline.com, 16 Apr. 2024
Student’s fate slowly unfolds in juvenile court In August 2023, the Bostrom student accused of bringing the gun to school remotely called into his hearing with Maricopa County Superior Court’s juvenile department.
—Yana Kunichoff, The Arizona Republic, 16 Apr. 2024
And by some strange twist of fate, so much of that game rests on the broad shoulders of Kuminga.
—Dieter Kurtenbach, The Mercury News, 16 Apr. 2024
Stephanie Zacharek, TIME, 5 Apr. 2024
If South had the jack of hearts, he was fated to succeed.
—Frank Stewart, The Mercury News, 4 Apr. 2024
Born just three days apart in the same hospital in 1947, they were fated to become the best of friends.
—Esther Kang, Peoplemag, 29 Feb. 2024
The actress and director, 42, revealed that the way she and Gabel, also 42, happened upon the home was nothing short of fated in a new archdigest.com tour.
—Bailey Richards, Peoplemag, 31 Jan. 2024
It’s made to be perched atop your head and, thanks to a sound brick, will deem what house you’re fated to.
—Melissa Epifano, EW.com, 1 Mar. 2024
Her hardscrabble youth is marked by intense memories that fated her to a life of performance.
—Charles McNulty, Los Angeles Times, 24 Jan. 2024
But where Weed were fated to remain underground heroes, Cartwheel is poised to be Anderson’s breakthrough.
—Quinn Moreland, Pitchfork, 23 Oct. 2023
After that, your journey is mostly fated to what seasonal seafood lurks in the depths of the open kitchen.
—Ben Jarrell, Charlotte Observer, 31 Jan. 2024
Noun
While the members wait to learn their fate, the fighting has some questioning their future in Metropolis.
—Mike Hixenbaugh, NBC News, 18 Apr. 2024
The reaction scene plays out not with churning pathos but instead like TikToks of people watching Ned Stark meet his surprising fate or videos of fans in a sports bar groaning in unison.
—Margaret Lyons, New York Times, 18 Apr. 2024
As fate — or the Instagram algorithm — would have it, the video ended up on the Explore page of Ashley Dickson, a vintage-lover in Arizona, who immediately noticed that one of the dresses had come from her own closet.
—Virginia Chamlee, Peoplemag, 17 Apr. 2024
Now the fate of the deteriorating site is in limbo.
—Joe Marusak, Charlotte Observer, 16 Apr. 2024
Seven jurors have been selected so far to decide the legal fate of the first U.S. president ever to face criminal trial.
—Julia Reinstein, ABC News, 16 Apr. 2024
The day began with pretrial arguments -- including over a potential fine for Trump -- before moving in the afternoon into jury selection, where the parties will decide who among them might be picked to determine the legal fate of the former, and potentially future, American president.
—Jennifer Peltz, arkansasonline.com, 16 Apr. 2024
Student’s fate slowly unfolds in juvenile court In August 2023, the Bostrom student accused of bringing the gun to school remotely called into his hearing with Maricopa County Superior Court’s juvenile department.
—Yana Kunichoff, The Arizona Republic, 16 Apr. 2024
And by some strange twist of fate, so much of that game rests on the broad shoulders of Kuminga.
—Dieter Kurtenbach, The Mercury News, 16 Apr. 2024
Verb
Patel began filming before the pandemic, and finishing the movie was a trial; it was fated for a streaming release until filmmaker and producer Jordan Peele intervened on its behalf.
—Stephanie Zacharek, TIME, 5 Apr. 2024
If South had the jack of hearts, he was fated to succeed.
—Frank Stewart, The Mercury News, 4 Apr. 2024
Born just three days apart in the same hospital in 1947, they were fated to become the best of friends.
—Esther Kang, Peoplemag, 29 Feb. 2024
The actress and director, 42, revealed that the way she and Gabel, also 42, happened upon the home was nothing short of fated in a new archdigest.com tour.
—Bailey Richards, Peoplemag, 31 Jan. 2024
It’s made to be perched atop your head and, thanks to a sound brick, will deem what house you’re fated to.
—Melissa Epifano, EW.com, 1 Mar. 2024
Her hardscrabble youth is marked by intense memories that fated her to a life of performance.
—Charles McNulty, Los Angeles Times, 24 Jan. 2024
But where Weed were fated to remain underground heroes, Cartwheel is poised to be Anderson’s breakthrough.
—Quinn Moreland, Pitchfork, 23 Oct. 2023
After that, your journey is mostly fated to what seasonal seafood lurks in the depths of the open kitchen.
—Ben Jarrell, Charlotte Observer, 31 Jan. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'fate.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near fate
Cite this Entry
“Fate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fate. Accessed 24 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
fate
1 of 2 noun1
: a power beyond one's control that is believed to decide what happens
2
: something that happens as though decided by fate
3
: a final result
4
plural capitalized
: the three goddesses in classical mythology who decide the course of human life
Medical Definition
fate
noun
: the expected result of normal development
prospective fate of embryonic cells
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