fateful

adjective

fate·​ful ˈfāt-fəl 

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 

adverb

fatefulness noun

Synonyms

• calamitous
• cataclysmal
• cataclysmic
• catastrophic
• damning
• destructive
• disastrous
• fatal
• ruinous
• unfortunate

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

Of course Andress sees the irony in the title now, given the impression so many people were left with after that fateful day last July. —Nancy Kruh, People.com, 27 Mar. 2025

His fateful, fourth-down drop late in the AFC Championship Game will symbolize the Bills’ latest failure to beat the Kansas City Chiefs in the playoffs and reach the Super Bowl. —Tim Graham, New York Times, 27 Mar. 2025

Health has been a major issue ever since that fateful championship Warriors season. —Paul Du Quenoy, MSNBC Newsweek, 27 Mar. 2025

Toho and Crunchyroll also released a trailer for the upcoming season, showing a montage of memorable moments from the series fading away to stylised pictures of Deku and Shigaraki during their fateful final showdown. —Kevin Sabet, Newsweek, 24 Mar. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1720, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for fateful

• ungrateful
• grateful
• hateful

Kids Definition

fateful

adjective

fate·​ful ˈfāt-fəl 

1

: foretelling usually bad things to come

a fateful remark

2

: having serious results : important

a fateful decision

fatefully

-fə-lē 

adverb

fatefulness noun