fāˈtaləd.ē, fəˈ-, -lətē, -i noun
( -es )
Etymology: Middle French fatalité, from Late Latin fatalitat-, fatalitas, from Latin fatalis decreed by destiny + -itat-, -itas -ity
1. : something brought about or established by fate or necessity
this necessary fact and even duty of nationality is accidental; like age or sex it is a physical fatality — George Santayana
2.
a. : the quality or state of causing or being likely to cause death or destruction
the degree of fatality of certain diseases is higher than one imagines
b. : the quality or condition of being fated : subjection to fate : predetermination by necessity ; specifically : the quality or condition of being destined for disaster
afraid of the fatality that seemed to mark his family's history
3.
a. : invincible necessity as a principle or fact in nature : fate 1
to believe in fatality
b. : fatalism
4. : the agent or agency of fate
their destiny established by an overruling fatality
5.
a. : a fatal outcome ; especially : death resulting from a disaster
a car crash that was the cause of several fatalities
b. : something experiencing or subject to a fatal outcome
one of the fatalities in the drownings was a small child