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fatal Definition

fa·tal (fāt'l)

adjective

  1. Obsolete fated; destined; inevitable
  2. important in its outcome; fateful; decisive the fatal day arrived
  3. resulting in death
  4. very destructive; most unfortunate; disastrous
  5. concerned with or determining fate

Etymology: ME < OFr & < L fatalis < fatum, fate

fatal Related Forms

fa·tal·ness noun

fatal Synonyms

fatal

modif.

deadly, disastrous, mortal, lethal; see deadly. See syn. study at deadly.

fatal Law Definition

adj

Deadly, causing actual or metaphorical death; causing the undoing of a claim, assertion, or legal document (“a fatal flaw in the pleading”). See also fatal defect.

fatal Usage Examples

Preposition: within

year: MND usually takes hold in middle age between forty-five to fifty-five years and generally proves fatal within a few short years.

Modifies a noun

  • flaw: Fatal flaws Philip Cowley responds to last issue's Pilgrim column Think back a touch under nine years, to May 7 1997.
  • accident: February 22 nd 1859 A fatal accident occurred in Sudbury on Tuesday last.
  • collision: Police are renewing their appeal for information about a fatal road traffic collision which occurred last Saturday Night.
  • crash: The three stories revolve around a fatal car crash.
  • shooting: A similar justification was used for the fatal shooting of a Brazilian.
  • overdose: Taking too much of a sedative drug can lead to a fatal overdose.

Modifying Another Word

  • potentially: The child who is affected from the potentially fatal disease has not yet been traced.
  • invariably: Ferrets should be inoculated against this infection, which is invariably fatal for them.
  • ultimately: But what is ultimately fatal to Mr Moat's argument on this point is what happened at the trial itself.
  • possibly: The Court of Appeal has delivered a further, possibly fatal, blow to such appeals in the decision in Pegasus Birds Limited.
  • sometimes: Hay fever is another reaction of the immune system to proteins, sometimes fatal like asthma.
  • rarely: This form of the disease, which is easily treated with antibiotics, is rarely fatal.

Used with adjective complement

  • prove: Minutes or even seconds being lost could prove fatal.
  • seem: There are few things that seem fatal to anemones, other than metal-based chemical therapeutics or accidental introduction of metal ions from other sources.

Preposition: in

  • case: As a result of this, many recipients of blood and plasma products developed HIV and hepatitis, which was fatal in many cases.
  • %: If untreated, the disease can be fatal in 5 % of cases, but with prompt antibiotic treatment recovery occurs.
  • patient: Chickenpox is of particular concern since this normally minor illness may be fatal in immunosuppressed patients.
  • human: The radiation levels there are about 10000 times that that would be fatal in humans!

Preposition: for

someone: He was certain if he misjudged a maneuver of this type the result could potentially be fatal for someone.

Browse dictionary entries near fatal

  1. Fatah
  2. fata morgana
  3. fat-witted
  4. fat-soluble
  5. fat farm
  6. fat client
  7. fat city
  8. fat cell
  9. fat cat
  10. fat AP
  1. fatal defect
  2. fatal variance
  3. fatalism
  4. fatality
  5. fatally
  6. fatback
  7. fate
  8. fated
  9. fateful
  10. Fates