fatal Definition
fa·tal (fāt′'l)
adjective
- Obsolete fated; destined; inevitable
- important in its outcome; fateful; decisive the fatal day arrived
- resulting in death
- very destructive; most unfortunate; disastrous
- concerned with or determining fate
Etymology: ME < OFr & < L fatalis < fatum, fate
fatal Related Forms
fa′·tal·ness noun
fatal Synonyms
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
- ‹ Fatah
- ‹ fata morgana
- ‹ fat-witted
- ‹ fat-soluble
- ‹ fat farm
- ‹ fat client
- ‹ fat city
- ‹ fat cell
- ‹ fat cat
- ‹ fat AP
- fatal defect ›
- fatal variance ›
- fatalism ›
- fatality ›
- fatally ›
- fatback ›
- fate ›
- fated ›
- fateful ›
- Fates ›

