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

From Salon ● Oct. 5, 2026

The first alpha-gal fatality was confirmed in 2025 after Brian Waitzel, an otherwise healthy JetBlue pilot, died four hours after he ate a hamburger at a backyard barbecue in New Jersey.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 4, 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

The storm brought strong winds, heavy rain, flooding and widespread damage across parts of central Ohio, and at least one fatality has been reported.

From BBC ● Aug. 11, 2026

The highest fatality count from any non-war event in the history of the nation.

From "Dry" by Neal Shusterman and Jarrod Shusterman

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

Fatalities data are through 2025 and include the fatalities on board and on ground.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026

Falls are the most common cause of traumatic brain injuries for older adults and result in around 43,000 fatalities every year.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 5, 2026

“The circumstances of several fatalities suggest that some individuals may not have been aware of the fire’s proximity or their evacuation status,” the report found.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 2, 2026

In his smoothest Texas voice, C. J. Peters said, “It’s a rather rare viral disease that has been responsible for human fatalities in outbreaks in Zaire and Sudan within the past ten or twelve years.”

From "The Hot Zone" by Richard Preston

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Related Words

• accident
• casualty
• disaster
• mortality

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