fateful

adjective

fate·​ful ˈfāt-fəl How to pronounce fateful (audio)
Synonyms of fateful
1
: having a quality of ominous prophecy
a fateful remark
2
a
: involving momentous consequences : decisive
… made his fateful decision to declare war …—W. L. Shirer
b
: deadly, catastrophic
3
: controlled by fate : foreordained
fatefully
ˈfāt-fə-lē How to pronounce fateful (audio)
adverb
fatefulness noun

Synonyms of fateful

Relevance
See All Synonyms & Antonyms in Thesaurus
Choose the Right Synonym for fateful

ominous, portentous, fateful mean having a menacing or threatening aspect.

ominous implies having a menacing, alarming character foreshadowing evil or disaster.

ominous rumblings from the volcano

portentous suggests being frighteningly big or impressive but now seldom definitely connotes forewarning of calamity.

an eerie and portentous stillness

fateful suggests being of momentous or decisive importance.

the fateful conference that led to war

Examples of fateful in a Sentence

His life changed on that fateful November evening. Hundreds perished on that fateful day. Her campaign took a fateful turn.
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
After an eventful night at the fair – 11-year-old Alistair Lehto grew a giant that hit 1,815 pounds, earning him $500 and the title of Youth Grower of the Year – the fateful time finally arrives. — Cameron Pugh, Christian Science Monitor, 16 Oct. 2026 Alaric Jackson's fateful punch of Bradley Chubb, which has been in the news cycle for multiple days, finally received a firsthand explanation from the man on the receiving end of the blow. — Armando Salguero Outkick, FOXNews.com, 15 Oct. 2026 How is the Schaumburg Democrat grappling with that fateful outcome, while preparing to depart Congress after 10 tumultuous years, which included a pandemic, an insurrection and impeachment proceedings? — Marni Pyke, Chicago Tribune, 13 Oct. 2026 Years after that fateful night in Pattinson’s bathroom, Singh’s Primetime story isn’t quite over. — Aaron Couch, HollywoodReporter, 12 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for fateful

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1720, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of fateful was circa 1720

Rhymes for fateful

See All Rhymes for fateful

Browse Nearby Words

fate drama
fateful
fatefully
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Fateful.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fateful. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation

Kids Definition

fateful

adjective
fate·​ful ˈfāt-fəl How to pronounce fateful (audio)
1
: foretelling usually bad things to come
a fateful remark
2
: having serious results : important
a fateful decision
fatefully
-fə-lē How to pronounce fateful (audio)
adverb
fatefulness noun
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of compunction

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Exceptions of '-s' and '-es' Plurals

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

16 Food Words Recently Added to the Dictionary

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

7 Words for Bad Endings and Rough Situations

Did 'orange' the fruit or the color come first?
See More

Popular

See More

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

16 Food Words Recently Added to the Dictionary

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
artwork of illustrated limes with the text limes and smile with an arrow connecting the two words
Quiz: Spot the Anagram! Scramble these words to find new words with the e...
See All