fate

American  

[feyt] / feɪt /

noun

1. something that unavoidably befalls a person; fortune; lot.

   It is always his fate to be left behind.

   Synonyms:

   luck , chance , kismet , karma

2. 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.

3. that which is inevitably predetermined; destiny.

   Death is our ineluctable fate.

4. a prophetic declaration of what must be.

   The oracle pronounced their fate.

5. death, destruction, or ruin.

6. Classical Mythology.  the Fates, the three goddesses of destiny, known to the Greeks as the Moerae and to the Romans as the Parcae.

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verb (used with object)

fated, fating

1. 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.

   Synonyms:

   preordain , foreordain

fate British  

/ feɪt /

noun

1. the ultimate agency that predetermines the course of events

2. the inevitable fortune that befalls a person or thing; destiny

3. the end or final result

4. a calamitous or unfavourable outcome or result; death, destruction, or downfall

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verb

1. (tr; usually passive) to predetermine; doom

   he was fated to lose the game

fate Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing fate

• seal one's fate
• tempt fate

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Related Words

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.

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”

Example Sentences

The ultimate fate of the company rests on the question of what will become a commodity first, said McCardel, the startup founder whose employees persuaded him to use Cursor.

From The Wall Street Journal

SBC's planning committee will meet to decide the application's fate on 8 December.

From BBC

As fate would have it, Spencer and Ponting would end up in the same bar that evening, and they settled their difference over a beer.

From BBC

"Thai immigration said Bdap was handed over to Vietnamese officials without giving further details. We have no news about his fate," his lawyer Nadthasiri Bergman told AFP.

From Barron's

He may not be entirely master of his own fate.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• chance
• circumstance
• consequence
• destiny
• effect
• future
• issue
• outcome