I. ˈfād. ə l, -āt ə l adjective
Etymology: Middle English, from Latin & Middle French; Middle French fatal, from Latin fatalis, from fatum fate + -alis -al — more at fate
1. obsolete
a. : decreed or appointed by destiny : fated
b. : doomed, condemned
2. : attended by or fraught with acts or a potential act of fate : fateful
a fatal hour
a fatal spot
3.
a. : of or belonging to fate
this science sets a fatal necessity on things — H.O.Taylor
: concerned with or dealing in fate
the fatal thread of his life had nearly run out
: resembling fate in foretelling destiny : prophetic
felt he could console himself by arguing that death was written in the fatal books
b. : like fate in proceeding according to an inevitable or fixed sequence
there was always physical exercise, but that had a fatal way of coming after a time to raise more problems than it solved — Rebecca West
c. obsolete : ominous , foreboding
d. : determining one's fate
this fatal gift of enthusiasm, an inherited trait which determined her later life — E.S.Bates
the fatal flaw in this dazzling woman: a total lack of taste — Marya Mannes
4.
a. : causing death
a fatal blow
the fatal weapon was found by the police
a fatal diabetic coma — Havelock Ellis
b. : causing or resulting in destruction or ruin : calamitous , disastrous
the fatal weekend on which he lost his total fortune in a fire
the fatal eruption of the volcano that destroyed people and towns and ruined the countryside
c. : difficult to avoid and causing a harm or evil less grievous than death or ruin
the fatal moment in which she accepted his proposal and began a life of boredom and frustration
a fatal invitation to triviality — Mark Schorer
specifically of a woman : ruinously attractive : being a femme fatale
Synonyms: see deadly
II. noun
( -s )
Etymology: fatal , adjective
: fatality 5a