fatality

noun

fa·​tal·​i·​ty fā-ˈta-lə-tē 

fə-

plural fatalities

1

a

: the quality or state of causing death or destruction

b

: the quality or condition of being destined for disaster

2

: something established by fate

3

a

: fate sense 1

b

: fatalism

4

: the agent or agency of fate

5

a

: death resulting from a disaster

b

: one that experiences a fatal outcome

Synonyms

• casualty
• loss
• prey
• victim

Examples of fatality in a Sentence

The car crash caused one fatality and several serious injuries.

the grim reminder that every holiday weekend inevitably results in a slew of highway fatalities

Recent Examples on the Web

State police last year also made 30 DUI arrests and investigated a total of 439 crashes, including 20 involving injuries and one fatality. —Justin Muszynski, Hartford Courant, 26 Nov. 2024

The incident, which occurred on Nov. 1 in Novi Sad, resulted in 15 fatalities. —Dan Perry, Newsweek, 26 Nov. 2024

Just don’t attempt it when there’s rain in the forecast, as flash floods are common and fatalities have occurred. —Graham Averill, Outside Online, 24 Nov. 2024

Both twins later died but only one fatality was included in the CDC's case count because the bacteria was not detected in the other twin. —Juliana Kim, NPR, 23 Nov. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle French fatalité, from Late Latin fatalitat-, fatalitas, from Latin fatalis

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing fatality

• case fatality rate
• case fatality ratio
• fatality rate

Kids Definition

fatality

noun

fa·​tal·​i·​ty fā-ˈtal-ət-ē 

fə-

plural fatalities

: a death resulting from a disaster or accident

Medical Definition

fatality

noun

fa·​tal·​i·​ty fā-ˈtal-ət-ē, fə- 

plural fatalities

1

: the quality or state of causing death or destruction : deadliness

the degree of fatality of a disease

2

a

: death resulting from a disaster

a car crash causing several fatalities

b

: one who suffers such a death

one of the fatalities was a small child