fate
Americannoun
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something that unavoidably befalls a person; fortune; lot.
It is always his fate to be left behind.
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the universal principle or ultimate agency by which the order of things is presumably prescribed; the decreed cause of events; time.
Fate decreed that they would never meet again.
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that which is inevitably predetermined; destiny.
Death is our ineluctable fate.
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a prophetic declaration of what must be.
The oracle pronounced their fate.
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death, destruction, or ruin.
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Classical Mythology. the Fates, the three goddesses of destiny, known to the Greeks as the Moerae and to the Romans as the Parcae.
verb (used with object)
noun
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the ultimate agency that predetermines the course of events
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the inevitable fortune that befalls a person or thing; destiny
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the end or final result
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a calamitous or unfavourable outcome or result; death, destruction, or downfall
verb
Synonym Usage
Fate, destiny, doom refer to the idea of a fortune, usually adverse, that is predetermined and inescapable. The three words are frequently interchangeable. Fate stresses the irrationality and impersonal character of events: It was Napoleon's fate to be exiled. The word is often lightly used, however: It was my fate to meet her that very afternoon. Destiny emphasizes the idea of an unalterable course of events, and is often used of a propitious fortune: It was his destiny to save his nation. Doom especially applies to the final ending, always unhappy or terrible, brought about by destiny or fate: He met his doom bravely.
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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fatesimple
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fatessimple
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have fatedperfect
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has fatedperfect
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am fatingprogressive
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are fatingprogressive
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is fatingprogressive
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have been fatingperfect progressive
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has been fatingperfect progressive
Past
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fatedsimple
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had fatedperfect
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was fatingprogressive
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were fatingprogressive
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had been fatingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of fate
First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English, Middle French, from Latin fātum “what has been spoken, utterance, decree of fate, destiny,” originally neuter of fātus, past participle of fārī “to speak”
Explanation
Is it your fate to win a fortune in the lottery and retire young? Better hope so. Fate is like destiny, so that means winning the lottery would be an inevitable outcome. The word fate traces back to the Latin word fatum, meaning “that which has been spoken,” and something that's your fate is a done deal, not open to revision. If you feel like something is your fate, you feel it's beyond your control. Fate is often referred to directly, as if it were a supernatural power: “fate tore us apart." It can also describe your lot in life, like if it's your fate to take over the family farm.
Vocabulary lists containing fate
The Diary of Anne Frank
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"The Monkey's Paw," Vocabulary from the short story
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"Macbeth" Vocabulary from Act III
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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.
See Examples For:
The fate of theatrical releases for Hollywood movies has been a major source of contention for the industry.
From Barron's ● Jul. 13, 2026
The singles, more concerned about their romantic fate than patriotic duty, mumble through the lyrics.
From BBC ● Jul. 10, 2026
In times past, the nation would have learned of the fate of the commonwealth’s senior senator because a bird-dog reporter like Al Cross would have tracked it all down and reported it.
From Salon ● Jul. 10, 2026
The fate of about 1,200 emergency housing vouchers issued by Los Angeles County’s smaller housing authorities remains unclear.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 9, 2026
Part one of his plan was complete: He’d convinced Gingersnipes that her fate was to enter the Afterlife tonight, on All Hallows’ Eve.
From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman
Consider the fates of the British Invasion superstars who emerged from England alongside the Stones in the 1960s.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 10, 2026
That's the no-man's land they're living in now, frantically looking at the respective fates of Senegal and Ecuador, Curacao and Cape Verde, Saudi Arabia and others.
From BBC ● Jun. 25, 2026
Aiello expects more of its kind will suffer similar fates if nothing is done.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 3, 2026
But the 400,000-acre “dead zone” left by Star Fire Coals and other companies was saved from such fates.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 29, 2026
“Their fates are only a matter of consequence?”
From "The Night Circus" by Erin Morgenstern
Their fated romance is the final piece of the puzzle, the pièce de résistance that helps De Palma’s film rise above the other thrillers of its ilk.
From Salon ● Jul. 4, 2026
But he was fated to spend more than two-thirds of his career in opposition, and only briefly achieved cabinet rank.
From BBC ● Jun. 14, 2026
Both parts are, admittedly, choice ones, but it’s an indication of the production’s deficiencies that these characters—and not the lovers fated to die before they grow to maturity—linger longest in memory.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 12, 2026
If you lack investment discipline and don’t have a plan to handle your winners and losers, you are likely fated to lose more than you should—and to earn less than you could.
From Barron's ● Apr. 29, 2026
He was a warrior, and this dark ferocity had been passed down in the blood of the Miyamoto family and he himself was fated to carry it into the next generation.
From "Snow Falling on Cedars: A Novel" by David Guterson
Now was his hope a great bulk of will fating Its wish to being, now felt he he was blind In some point of his seen wish undefined.
From Antinous: A Poem by Pessoa, Fernando António Nogueira
This was a wolf on the defensive, fating a pack which had turned upon his leadership.
From Destiny by Buck, Charles Neville
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.
