fate
- something that unavoidably befalls a person; fortune; lot: It is always his fate to be left behind.
- 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.
- that which is inevitably predetermined; destiny: Death is our ineluctable fate.
- a prophetic declaration of what must be: The oracle pronounced their fate.
- death, destruction, or ruin.
- the Fates, Classical Mythology. the three goddesses of destiny, known to the Greeks as the Moerae and to the Romans as the Parcae.
- to predetermine, as by the decree of fate; destine (used in the passive): a person who was fated to be the savior of the country.
Origin of fate
Synonyms for fate
See more synonyms for on Thesaurus.comRelated Words for fate
destiny, circumstance, effect, chance, future, consequence, outcome, issue, predestination, kismet, nemesis, fortune, horoscope, cup, end, destination, ending, break, providence, portionExamples from the Web for fate
Contemporary Examples of fate
Sybil is dead, as is Matthew; Gregson is missing with dark hints about his fate.
If we want to prevent others from your fate, we need to stop being so passive on these issues.
The fate of AirAsia Flight 8501 and the 162 souls on board is a tragedy, but it will not remain a mystery for much longer.
Yet, much like the fate that fell the first season, ratings just plain weren't good.
So how concerned should people be about the fate of the VSV vaccine?
Historical Examples of fate
All efforts to ascertain your fate proved utterly fruitless.
PhilotheaLydia Maria Child
She was maintaining that calm level of submission to fate which had been her lifelong habit.
The SpendersHarry Leon Wilson
And now, as the train took her swiftly to her fate, she made the best of it.
The SpendersHarry Leon Wilson
From that day the fate of Leichardt and his companions has been involved in mystery.
Explorations in AustraliaJohn Forrest
Because we are free we can never be indifferent to the fate of freedom elsewhere.
fate
- the ultimate agency that predetermines the course of events
- the inevitable fortune that befalls a person or thing; destiny
- the end or final result
- a calamitous or unfavourable outcome or result; death, destruction, or downfall
- (tr; usually passive) to predetermine; doomhe was fated to lose the game
Word Origin for fate
Word Origin and History for fate
late 14c., from Latin fata, neuter plural of fatum "prophetic declaration, oracle, prediction," thus "that which is ordained, destiny, fate," literally "thing spoken (by the gods)," from neuter past participle of fari "to speak," from PIE *bha- (2) "speak" (see fame (n.)).
The Latin sense evolution is from "sentence of the Gods" (Greek theosphaton) to "lot, portion" (Greek moira, personified as a goddess in Homer), also "one of the three goddesses (Clotho, Lachesis, and Atropos) who determined the course of a human life." The native word was wyrd (see weird).
"to preordain as if by fate; to be destined by fate," c.1600, from fate (n.). Related: Fated; fating. Earlier it meant "to destroy" (c.1400).
Idioms and Phrases with fate
fate
In addition to the idioms beginning with fate
- fate worse than death, a
also see:
- seal one's fate
- tempt fate