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Synonyms

fateful

American  
[feyt-fuhl] / ˈfeɪt fəl /

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 British  
/ ˈfeɪtfʊl /

adjective

  1. having important consequences; decisively important

  2. bringing death or disaster

  3. controlled by or as if by fate

  4. prophetic

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Related Words

See ominous.

Other Word Forms

  • fatefully adverb
  • fatefulness noun

Etymology

Origin of fateful

First recorded in 1705–15; fate + -ful

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.