fateful

[feyt-fuhl]

adjective

1. having momentous significance or consequences; decisively important; portentous.

   a fateful meeting between the leaders of the two countries.

2. fatal, deadly, or disastrous.

3. controlled or determined by destiny; inexorable.

4. prophetic; ominous.

fateful

/ ˈfeɪtfʊl /

adjective

1. having important consequences; decisively important

2. bringing death or disaster

3. controlled by or as if by fate

4. prophetic

Other Word Forms

• fatefulness noun
• fatefully adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of fateful¹

First recorded in 1705–15; fate + -ful

Synonym Study

See ominous.

Example Sentences

It’s a skill Snell has been honing ever since that fateful October night five years ago.

From Los Angeles Times

This would be a fateful decision, because the store is not just a store.

From Los Angeles Times

Since that fateful October night, Cortes has switched teams twice.

From Los Angeles Times

Scream when another’s conflicted hero made a fateful romantic choice?

From Los Angeles Times

As Herlihy recalled their fateful encounter from the day he moved into the dorm, he remembered being impressed by Sandler’s apparent self-assurance.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• calamitous 
• cataclysmic 
• catastrophic 
• disastrous 
• fatal