fatality

[ fey-tal-i-tee, fuh- ]

/ feɪˈtæl ɪ ti, fə- /

Save This Word!

See synonyms for fatality on Thesaurus.com

noun, plural fa·tal·i·ties.

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.

QUIZ

QUIZ YOURSELF ON “ITS” VS. “IT’S”!

Apostrophes can be tricky; prove you know the difference between "it’s" and "its" in this crafty quiz!

Question 1 of 8

On the farm, the feed for chicks is significantly different from the roosters’; ______ not even comparable.

it's

its

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of fatality

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

OTHER WORDS FROM fatality

non·fa·tal·i·ty, noun, plural non·fa·tal·i·ties.

Words nearby fatality

Fatah, fatal, fatalism, fatalist, fatalistic, fatality, fatality rate, fatally, Fata Morgana, fatback, fatberg

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use fatality in a sentence

New York and New Jersey in particular saw hundreds of deaths a day in April, quickly contributing to the country’s total number of fatalities.
Trump contradicts CDC director on vaccine; Biden says Americans shouldn’t trust Trump|Colby Itkowitz, Felicia Sonmez, John Wagner|September 16, 2020|Washington Post
New York and New Jersey in particular recorded hundreds of deaths a day in April, quickly contributing to the country’s total number of fatalities.
Trump blames blue states for the coronavirus death toll — but most recent deaths have been in red states|Philip Bump|September 16, 2020|Washington Post
If we compare the necessary spread to achieve herd immunity with the fatality rate, we get a wide range of possible death tolls from the virus.
The problem with Trump’s ‘herd mentality’ line isn’t the verbal flub. It’s the mass death.|Philip Bump|September 16, 2020|Washington Post
The country’s chief medical officers said Sunday that the Covid-19 fatality rate among those ages 5 to 14 is lower than most seasonal flu infections.
Boris Johnson is urging parents to send their children back to school this fall|kdunn6|August 24, 2020|Fortune

Just this past week, California, Florida and Texas, along with a handful of other states, saw record spikes in fatalities.
Some Republicans Have Gotten More Concerned About COVID-19|Dhrumil Mehta (dhrumil.mehta@fivethirtyeight.com)|July 31, 2020|FiveThirtyEight
Just as Obama was heading back to his house that night, a 14-year-old named Kevin Diaz became the latest Chicago gun fatality.
Brooklyn Shooting Hits Close to Bill de Blasio’s Park Slope Home|Michael Daly|July 1, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The Good Wife introduced its potentially fatal fatality into a world already in flux.
Life After TV Death: How Shows Like ‘Game of Thrones’ Kill Your Favorite Characters|Phillip Maciak|April 15, 2014|DAILY BEAST
They're neither rising nor falling, and the highest fatality shooting took place while the assault-weapons ban was in place.
Department of Awful Statistics: Are Mass Shootings Really On the Rise?|Megan McArdle|January 28, 2013|DAILY BEAST
The gun-fatality rate for blacks far exceeds that for whites.
Is Gun Control Racist?|Adam Winkler|October 10, 2011|DAILY BEAST
A 26-year-old man was the first fatality of the riots, found shot in his car.
Cameron: Rioters Will Pay||August 11, 2011|DAILY BEAST
Many, however, are not aware of the fatality attending its use by the brute creation.
Tobacco; Its History, Varieties, Culture, Manufacture and Commerce|E. R. Billings.
By a strange fatality, they were generally purblind, and always shyed most fearfully when an Opposition coach approached them.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, No. CCCXXXIX. January, 1844. Vol. LV.|Various
She had fallen in love; fallen with the fatality of the Lemprieres, and with the fine precipitate sweep of her own genius.
The Creators|May Sinclair
You would not believe me: you went this morning to St. Catherine's, and by a fatality the prince was there and saw you.'
Chicot the Jester|Alexandre Dumas, Pere
Misfortune, Fatality, had willed that a drop of water thicker than the surrounding medium should pass through one of the mollusks.
Urania|Camille Flammarion

British Dictionary definitions for fatality

fatality

/ (fəˈtælɪtɪ) /

noun plural -ties

an accident or disaster resulting in death

a person killed in an accident or disaster

the power of causing death or disaster; deadliness

the quality or condition of being fated

something caused or dictated by fate

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

Medical definitions for fatality

fatality

[ fā-tăl′ĭ-tē, fə- ]

A death resulting from an accident or disaster.

One that is killed as a result of such an occurrence.

fatality

Origin of fatality

OTHER WORDS FROM fatality

Words nearby fatality

Words related to fatality

How to use fatality in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for fatality

Medical definitions for fatality