fatality
Americannoun
plural
fatalities-
a disaster resulting in death.
-
a death resulting from such an occurrence.
a rise in highway fatalities.
-
the quality of causing death or disaster; a fatal influence; deadliness.
-
predetermined liability to disaster, misfortune, etc..
a fatality for saying the wrong thing.
-
the quality of being predetermined by or subject to fate.
There is a fatality in human affairs that leads to destruction.
-
the fate or destiny of a person or thing.
Death is the ultimate fatality of all human beings.
-
a fixed, unalterably predetermined course of things; inevitability.
to resign oneself to the fatality of life.
noun
-
an accident or disaster resulting in death
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a person killed in an accident or disaster
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the power of causing death or disaster; deadliness
-
the quality or condition of being fated
-
something caused or dictated by fate
Other Word Forms
- nonfatality noun
Etymology
Origin of fatality
From the Late Latin word fātālitās, dating back to 1480–90. See fatal, -ity
Explanation
If you hear on your car radio that there has been a traffic accident up ahead with one fatality, you should be very thankful you were not involved. A fatality is, quite simply and grimly, a human death. You will often hear fatality used in conjunction with the aftermath of a disaster, natural or otherwise. For example, a news broadcaster may say, "We have received reports of at least one fatality as a result of the storm." Fatality has its roots in the Latin word fatalis, meaning "decreed by fate." When it comes to fatality, being in the wrong place at the wrong time can certainly be ill-fated.
Vocabulary lists containing fatality
Tears of a Tiger
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This Week in Words: Current Events Vocab for October 30–November 5, 2021
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The Hot Zone
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Motorcycles, meanwhile, have one of the highest fatality rates.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 9, 2026
Eleven days after Lunas Campos died, 36-year-old Victor Manuel Diaz marked the third fatality in six weeks at the El Paso tent camp.
From Salon • Feb. 20, 2026
It was the sole U.S. fatality among 25 reported shark bites nationwide.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 19, 2026
Prior to the Ahmedabad crash, it had operated for nearly a decade and a half without a single fatality.
From BBC • Jan. 20, 2026
Yes, that was ever the hour of fatality at Thornfield.
From "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Brontë
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
