fate /feɪt/ BrE AmE noun
[ Date: 1300-1400 ; Language: French ; Origin: Latin fatum 'what has been spoken (by the gods)' , from fari 'to speak' ]
1 . [countable usually singular] the things that happen to someone or something, especially unpleasant things that end their existence or end a particular period:
I wouldn’t wish such a fate on my worst enemy.
fate of
No one knows what the fate of the hostages will be.
2 . [uncountable] a power that is believed to control what happens in people’s lives:
Fate plays cruel tricks sometimes.
a twist/quirk of fate (=something unexpected that happens)
By a strange twist of fate Smith’s first match is against the team that gave him the sack last season.
3 . a fate worse than death something terrible that might happen to you – often used humorously:
He had rescued an innocent girl from a fate worse than death.
⇨ tempt fate at ↑ tempt (3)
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COLLOCATIONS
■ verbs
▪ suffer a fate
We must prevent other children from suffering the same fate.
▪ meet a fate
The beautiful old building met a sad fate when it was sold off to property developers.
▪ decide/settle sb’s/sth’s fate
The meeting will decide the fate of the factory.
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The court’s decision settled Anderson’s fate.
▪ seal sb’s fate (=make it certain that something bad will happen to someone, especially that they will die)
Engine failure sealed the pilot’s fate.
▪ leave/abandon somebody to their fate (=leave someone in a bad situation)
The abandoned sailors were left to their fate on the island.
▪ discover/find out sb’s fate
He only discovered his sister’s fate after the war.
▪ resign yourself to/accept your fate
I had no choice but to resign myself to my fate.
▪ a fate awaits somebody formal (=a fate will happen to someone)
A terrible fate awaited any soldier who was captured.
▪ a fate befalls somebody formal (=someone suffers a particular fate)
I wondered what fate would befall me.
■ adjectives
▪ the same fate
He did not intend to meet the same fate as his companion.
▪ a similar fate
The project suffered a similar fate to many of its predecessors.
▪ sb’s ultimate fate (=what finally happens to someone)
The ultimate fate of the refugees is in our hands.
▪ a terrible/horrible/grim fate
The crew of the ship met a terrible fate.
▪ a sad/tragic fate
The play is about the tragic fate of two lovers.
▪ a cruel fate
She suffered a cruel fate at the hands of her captors.
▪ an uncertain fate (=not clear, definite, or decided)
The Bill faces an uncertain fate in the Senate.
■ phrases
▪ your fate is in sb’s hands (=someone will decide what happens to you)
His fate is now in the hands of the judge.