fatality

American  

[fay-tal-i-tee, fuh-] / feɪˈtæl ɪ ti, fə- /

noun

• fatalities
  plural

1. a disaster resulting in death.

2. a death resulting from such an occurrence.

   a rise in highway fatalities.

3. the quality of causing death or disaster; a fatal influence; deadliness.

4. predetermined liability to disaster, misfortune, etc..

   a fatality for saying the wrong thing.

5. the quality of being predetermined by or subject to fate.

   There is a fatality in human affairs that leads to destruction.

6. the fate or destiny of a person or thing.

   Death is the ultimate fatality of all human beings.

7. a fixed, unalterably predetermined course of things; inevitability.

   to resign oneself to the fatality of life.

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fatality British  

/ fəˈtælɪtɪ /

noun

1. an accident or disaster resulting in death

2. a person killed in an accident or disaster

3. the power of causing death or disaster; deadliness

4. the quality or condition of being fated

5. something caused or dictated by fate

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nonfatality
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• fatalities
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of fatality

From the Late Latin word fātālitās, dating back to 1480–90. See fatal, -ity

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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.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

fatality fatalities

The union said the death of the tourist over the summer was tragic but noted it was the only human fatality associated with the industry, which has operated for more than 160 years.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 22, 2026

The illness is highly fatal, with average fatality rates approaching 100%.

From Salon ● Oct. 5, 2026

"How there has not been a fatality is only by a miracle," he said.

From BBC ● Sep. 12, 2026

The third fatality was a man of unknown age found collapsed on the street, and the fourth a person of undetermined gender and age.

From Barron's ● Aug. 14, 2026

Yes, that was ever the hour of fatality at Thornfield.

From "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Brontë

As Damian Kevitt of Streets Are for Everyone told Shalby, for three years running, L.A. has had more traffic fatalities than homicides.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 21, 2026

No injuries or fatalities were reported, the ministry said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 14, 2026

The fatalities include a 45-year-old man dying from an apparent heart attack after riding the Goliath in 2006, said the Doan Law Firm.

From BBC ● Oct. 13, 2026

The 21-mile stretch of PCH that runs through Malibu is one of the deadliest and most notorious roads in the state, with an average of about four crash-related fatalities per year over the last decade.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 5, 2026

Indeed, they account for more than a third of all Everest fatalities.

From "Into Thin Air" by Jon Krakauer

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Related Words

• accident
• casualty
• disaster
• mortality

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