1
as in disastrous
bringing about ruin or misfortune
I made the fatal mistake of sharing my secret with the office's biggest blabbermouth
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in lethal
likely to cause or capable of causing death
that snake's venom is fatal unless the victim is given the antidote almost immediately
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of fatal
The fatal accident happened Thursday night on U.S. Highway 20 near Henry's Lake State Park in eastern Idaho, located about 16 miles west of Yellowstone in Wyoming.
—
Greg Norman, FOXNews.com, 2 May 2025
While some pinnipeds have been successfully treated and released, domoic acid poisoning is almost always fatal for dolphins.
—Karen Kucher, San Diego Union-Tribune, 1 May 2025
Not having any intent that the transfer of cash be repaid may be fatal to trying to characterize the payment as a loan.
—Martin Shenkman, Forbes.com, 30 Apr. 2025
Across all suicide attempts not involving a firearm, only 4% result in death; but for firearm suicide, approximately 90% of attempts are fatal.
—Alyssa Goldberg, USA Today, 25 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for fatal
Greg Norman, FOXNews.com, 2 May 2025
While some pinnipeds have been successfully treated and released, domoic acid poisoning is almost always fatal for dolphins.
—Karen Kucher, San Diego Union-Tribune, 1 May 2025
Not having any intent that the transfer of cash be repaid may be fatal to trying to characterize the payment as a loan.
—Martin Shenkman, Forbes.com, 30 Apr. 2025
Across all suicide attempts not involving a firearm, only 4% result in death; but for firearm suicide, approximately 90% of attempts are fatal.
—Alyssa Goldberg, USA Today, 25 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for fatal
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fatal
Adjective
-
That quickly became disastrous for both sides as officials had a very public spat with one another using harsh rhetoric in front of a slew of journalists invited to cover what was initially intended to be brief opening remarks.—
Elisabeth Buchwald,
CNN Money,
9 May 2025
-
The second leg against AZ after a disastrous 1-0 defeat in Holland.—
Jack Pitt-Brooke,
New York Times,
9 May 2025
Adjective
-
The serial killer sat on death row for 14 years before execution by lethal injection on May 10, 1994, at age 52.—
Andrew Nodell,
People.com,
9 May 2025
-
Autopsy reports for two previous executions by lethal injection indicated both prisoners required multiple doses of the sedative pentobarbital to die, and the process took more than 10 minutes.—
Chiara Eisner,
NPR,
8 May 2025
Adjective
-
The deadly dismantling of a global public-health infrastructure.—
Jia Tolentino,
New Yorker,
3 May 2025
-
Hurricanes Beryl and Milton were also deadly, each killing more than 40 people in the United States.—
Phaedra Trethan,
USA Today,
3 May 2025
Adjective
-
None of his previous work has been released in the U.S., which is unfortunate because Demoustier (brother of the talented actress Anaïs) is one of those rare French filmmakers who can blend suspense with perceptive writing and characterization, resulting in artsy thrillers that dig deep.—
Jordan Mintzer,
HollywoodReporter,
16 May 2025
-
The coworker that went through this in particular took two more weeks unpaid, which in my opinion is also incredibly unfortunate.—
Jordan Fennell,
Hartford Courant,
14 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Fatal.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fatal. Accessed 21 May. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share