fatal, fateful

fatal, fateful
These words, derived from a Latin term meaning "destiny" or "fate," have distinct meanings. Fatal means "causing death" or "capable of resulting in destruction or ruin": "The highway accident was fatal to four persons." "Your lack of support will be fatal to my campaign." Synonyms for fatal include deadly, lethal, and mortal. Fateful means "important," "highly significant," "involving momentous consequences": "The meeting between Hitler and Mussolini was fateful for the history of Europe and the entire world." Fateful may mean "fatal," as in the preceding example, but what is fatal is not always fateful: Your unwillingness to lend me money to buy a coat may be fatal to my wardrobe plans but is hardly a fateful occurrence.

Dictionary of problem words and expressions. . 1975.

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  • fateful — fatal, fateful Both words have to do with the workings of fate, and their complex histories, fully explored by the OED, have often intertwined. Fowler (1926) wrote a fond defence of the special meaning of fateful, ‘having far reaching… …   Modern English usage

  • fatal — fatal, fateful Both words have to do with the workings of fate, and their complex histories, fully explored by the OED, have often intertwined. Fowler (1926) wrote a fond defence of the special meaning of fateful, ‘having far reaching… …   Modern English usage

  • fateful — See fatal. See fatal, fateful …   Dictionary of problem words and expressions

  • fatal — See fatal, fateful …   Dictionary of problem words and expressions

  • fatal — [adj1] deadly, lethal baleful, baneful, calamitous, cataclysmic, catastrophic, deathly, destructive, disastrous, fateful, final, ill fated, ill starred, incurable, inevitable, killing, malefic, malignant, mortal, mortiferous, noxious, pernicious …   New thesaurus

  • fatal — fa·tal adj 1: causing failure of a legal claim or cause of action a fatal defect in the proceedings W. R. LaFave and J. H. Israel 2: making something (as a contract) invalid or unenforceable there is a fatal indefiniteness with the result that… …   Law dictionary

  • fatal — [fāt′ l] adj. [ME < OFr & < L fatalis < fatum, FATE] 1. Obs. fated; destined; inevitable 2. important in its outcome; fateful; decisive [the fatal day arrived] 3. resulting in death 4. very destructive; most unfortunate; disastrous …   English World dictionary

  • fateful — [adj1] significant acute, apocalyptic, conclusive, critical, crucial, decisive, determinative, direful, doomful, eventful, important, inauspicious, momentous, ominous, portentous, resultful; concept 568 Ant. insignificant, unimportant fateful… …   New thesaurus

  • fateful — index critical (crucial), fatal, key, major, momentous, necessary (inescapable), portentous ( …   Law dictionary

  • fatal — fatalness, n. /fayt l/, adj. 1. causing or capable of causing death; mortal; deadly: a fatal accident; a fatal dose of poison. 2. causing destruction, misfortune, ruin, or failure: The withdrawal of funds was fatal to the project. 3. decisively… …   Universalium

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