| English Dictionary |
FATAL
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
| IPA (US): |  |
Dictionary entry overview: What does fatal mean?
• FATAL (adjective)
The adjective FATAL has 4 senses:
1. bringing death
2. having momentous consequences; of decisive importance
3. (of events) having extremely unfortunate or dire consequences; bringing ruin
4. controlled or decreed by fate; predetermined
Familiarity information: FATAL used as an adjective is uncommon.
Dictionary entry details
Sense 1
Meaning:
Bringing death
Similar:
deadly; deathly; mortal (causing or capable of causing death)
deadly; lethal (of an instrument of certain death)
terminal (causing or ending in or approaching death)
Antonym:
nonfatal (not bringing death)
Derivation:
fatality (the quality of being able to cause death or fatal disasters)
Sense 2
Meaning:
Having momentous consequences; of decisive importance
Synonyms:
fatal; fateful
Context example:
the fatal day of the election finally arrived
Similar:
decisive (determining or having the power to determine an outcome)
Sense 3
Meaning:
(of events) having extremely unfortunate or dire consequences; bringing ruin
Synonyms:
black; calamitous; disastrous; fatal; fateful
Context example:
a fateful error
Similar:
unfortunate (not favored by fortune; marked or accompanied by or resulting in ill fortune)
Sense 4
Meaning:
Controlled or decreed by fate; predetermined
Synonyms:
fatal; fateful
Context example:
a fatal series of events
Similar:
inevitable (incapable of being avoided or prevented)
Context examples
Severe asthma attacks may require emergency care, and they can be fatal.
(Asthma, NIH: National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute)
It is responsible for most fatal cases of mushroom poisoning.
(Amanita phalloides, NCI Dictionary)
If you don't treat it, it can be fatal.
(Addison Disease, NIH: National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases)
Nearly 1.5 million people in US sustain an MI each year, and this event proves fatal in approximately one third of patients.
(Acute Myocardial Infarction Pathway, NCI Thesaurus/BIOCARTA)
The clinical prognosis is fatal with survivability beyond 5 years unlikely.
(Cerebrooculofacioskeletal Syndrome, NCI Thesaurus)
This inflammatory process is potentially fatal to mother and fetus.
(Chorioamnionitis, NLM, Medical Subject Headings)
A rare and often fatal inherited disease in which the bone marrow fails to produce red blood cells, white blood cells, platelets, or a combination of these cells.
(Fanconi's Anemia, NCI Dictionary)
It ranges from mild skin and mucous membrane lesions to a severe, sometimes fatal systemic disorder.
(Erythema Multiforme Major, NLM, Medical Subject Headings)
It occurs unexpectedly and is occasionally fatal.
(Engraftment Syndrome, NCI Thesaurus)
No vaccines or treatments are available, and the diseases are almost always fatal.
(Retinal prion disease study redefines role for brain cells, National Institutes of Health)
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