fatality

noun

fa·​tal·​i·​ty fā-ˈta-lə-tē 

fə-

plural fatalities

1

a

: the quality or state of causing death or destruction

b

: the quality or condition of being destined for disaster

2

: something established by fate

3

a

: fate sense 1

b

: fatalism

4

: the agent or agency of fate

5

a

: death resulting from a disaster

b

: one that experiences a fatal outcome

Synonyms of fatality

• victim
• casualty

Examples of fatality in a Sentence

The car crash caused one fatality and several serious injuries.

the grim reminder that every holiday weekend inevitably results in a slew of highway fatalities

Recent Examples on the Web

The crash data includes any crash reported resulting in injury or fatalities that occurred within 200 feet of an intersection including near freeways, divided highways and rural rounds. —Jalen Williams, Freep.com, 23 Nov. 2025

Phoenix city officials said their work to prevent heat deaths is showing success as the number of fatalities is trailing totals for recent years. —Sarah Henry, AZCentral.com, 22 Nov. 2025

Most of the fatalities were connected to the outages and included cases of hypothermia, carbon monoxide poisoning, and medical conditions exacerbated by freezing termperatures, according to FERC. —Spencer Kimball,gabriel Cortés, CNBC, 22 Nov. 2025

The majority of these strikes happen during the summer, causing around 20 fatalities each year, according to the NWS. —Nc Weather Bot, Charlotte Observer, 22 Nov. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle French fatalité, from Late Latin fatalitat-, fatalitas, from Latin fatalis

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing fatality

• case fatality rate
• case fatality ratio
• fatality rate

Rhymes for fatality

• banality
• bestiality
• brutality
• carnality
• centrality
• chirality
• duality
• finality
• formality
• frugality
• legality
• lethality

Kids Definition

fatality

noun

fa·​tal·​i·​ty fā-ˈtal-ət-ē 

fə-

plural fatalities

: a death resulting from a disaster or accident

Medical Definition

fatality

noun

fa·​tal·​i·​ty fā-ˈtal-ət-ē, fə- 

plural fatalities

1

: the quality or state of causing death or destruction : deadliness

the degree of fatality of a disease

2

a

: death resulting from a disaster

a car crash causing several fatalities

b

: one who suffers such a death

one of the fatalities was a small child