fatalism

[ feyt-l-iz-uhm ]
See synonyms for: fatalismfatalistic on Thesaurus.com

noun
  1. the acceptance of all things and events as inevitable; submission to fate: Her fatalism helped her to face death with stoic calm.

  2. Philosophy. the doctrine that all events are subject to fate or inevitable predetermination.

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Origin of fatalism

1
First recorded in 1670–80; fatal + -ism

Other words from fatalism

  • fa·tal·ist, noun, adjective
  • fa·tal·is·tic [feyt-l-is-tik], /ˌfeɪt lˈɪs tɪk/, adjective

Words that may be confused with fatalism

Words Nearby fatalism

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use fatalism in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for fatalism

fatalism

/ (ˈfeɪtəˌlɪzəm) /


noun
  1. the philosophical doctrine that all events are predetermined so that man is powerless to alter his destiny

  2. the acceptance of and submission to this doctrine

  1. a lack of effort or action in the face of difficulty

Derived forms of fatalism

  • fatalist, noun
  • fatalistic, adjective
  • fatalistically, adverb

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Cultural definitions for fatalism

fatalism

The belief that events are determined by an impersonal fate and cannot be changed by human beings. Fatalism is a form of determinism.

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.