fatalist

American  

[feyt-l-ist] / ˈfeɪt l ɪst /

noun

1. a person who believes that all events are inevitable, so one’s choices and actions make no difference.

   Protest or not, the odds seem stacked against the likelihood of change, so should we be fatalists and go off to the beach instead?

2. Philosophy. a person who advances the idea that all events are naturally predetermined or subject to fate.

   Despite his teaching that class conflict is inevitable, observers contend that Marx was not a fatalist about historical change.

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adjective

1. Rare. fatalistic.

Etymology

Origin of fatalist

First recorded in 1640–50; fatal(ism) ( def. ) + -ist ( def. )

Example Sentences

But Perkins hops so quickly from one outrageous death to another that his screenplay leaves little room for rumination amid his constant fatalist sermonizing.

From Salon • Feb. 21, 2025

“This area has the lifestyle we like and the values we like,” he said, taking a fatalist view of natural hazards.

From Seattle Times • Jul. 9, 2023

It was an environmental warning repeated in many variations during a more than 80-year career of remarkable scientific range and originality — winning widespread praise as a visionary and scorn as a doomsday fatalist.

From Washington Post • Jul. 28, 2022

Still, Farhadi’s view on the modern world’s ubiquitous exchange of information feels more neutral than fatalist.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 14, 2022

Mrs. Beaverbrook, the fatalist, practically burst into tears and said in a timid little voice, “Oh, it’s so awful. Oh, the guns are so loud!”—which is another way of saying “I’m so scared.”

From "The Diary of a Young Girl" by Anne Frank