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

• fatefully adverb
• fatefulness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of fateful¹

First recorded in 1705–15; fate + -ful

Synonym Study

See ominous.

Example Sentences

That fateful trip to the airport Chili’s inspired a product that is oddly delightful, indispensable, sometimes even magical—and makes traveling less miserable.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Video clips from the fateful 1994 rally show Colosio, his curly black hair flecked with confetti, shaking hands and signing autographs as he winds his way through a gleeful political crowd.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

That October, a month before Andrew's fateful BBC Newsnight interview where he disastrously attempted to explain his connections to Mr Epstein, Ms Ferguson signed a contract agreeing to provide specific services for Pegasus.

Read more on BBC

That fateful day on set, as Farrell told it Tuesday on “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert,” was perhaps even more disturbing than the surveillance-state setting wherein the 2002 film unfolds.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

That fateful day was nearly 50 years ago and the teenagers were looking for a safe place to live.

Read more on BBC

Related Words

• calamitous 
• cataclysmic 
• catastrophic 
• disastrous 
• fatal