fatalistic

[ feyt-l-is-tik ]

adjective

1. demonstrating a belief that all events are inevitable, so one’s choices and actions make no difference:

   Fear, uncertainty, and a feeling of powerlessness contribute to a fatalistic attitude among many refugees when it comes to seeking justice.

2. Philosophy. advancing the idea that all events are naturally predetermined or subject to fate:

   A fatalistic view, which denies the possibility of free will, makes some sense scientifically.

Other Words From

• fa·tal·is·ti·cal·ly adverb
• non·fa·tal·is·tic adjective
• qua·si‐fa·tal·is·tic adjective
• qua·si‐fa·tal·is·ti·cal·ly adverb
• un·fa·tal·is·tic adjective
• un·fa·tal·is·ti·cal·ly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of fatalistic¹

fatalist ( def ) + -ic

Example Sentences

His voice sounded calm, but his message was fatalistic for a big guy, 6-foot-2 and 225 pounds, who had flown F-14s for the Navy.

From Washington Post

I may be angry at incompetent political leadership, but when I see people gathered without masks in restaurants or bars, or in pools or at the beach, it is easier just to be fatalistic.

From Washington Post

Those who refused to wear masks and take other basic precautions sometimes cited pseudoscience, but often, they were simply fatalistic.

From Washington Post

There’s a strange, fatalistic comfort in that, just as it’s comforting to have a fall marathon on the horizon—even when it’s just a castle in the air.

From Outside Online

There’s a reason Chargers fans are a jittery, fatalistic bunch.

From Washington Post

Some of his preciousness is a veneer, however, for his fatalistic streak.

From The Daily Beast

The Starks are fatalistic, duty-bound, honorable but kind of unsophisticated.

From The Daily Beast

Otherwise, however, this geographic cluster of answers is, if anything, even more fatalistic than the cultural explanations.

From The Daily Beast

And there has always been corruption—and earnest, fatalistic declarations from leaders saying how difficult it was to end it.

From The Daily Beast

Despite its fatalistic title, which suggests divine retribution, Nemesis is a realistic novel, not a parable.

From The Daily Beast

Superstitious and fatalistic, like so many superior men, she had no sincere belief except in occult sciences.

From Project Gutenberg

A fatalistic determinist denies the category of the contingent or possible.

From Project Gutenberg

It is one thing to the apathetic, fatalistic Turk, and quite another matter to an energetic, nervous American.

From Project Gutenberg

Beatrice is bidden to go on her way, but stands riveted to the spot by a fatalistic impulse to realise her dream.

From Project Gutenberg

Even the doctor, who accepted him with fatalistic calm, confessed alarm.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• bleak
• depressed
• despondent
• discouraged
• gloomy
• glum
• sad