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
W. L. Shirer
b
3
: controlled by fate : foreordained
fatefulness
noun
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
The duo pushes the concept of illusion versus reality to the extreme, personally and professionally, until tragedy reframes and opens a mystery surrounding their last fateful Las Vegas show.
—Rosy Cordero, Deadline, 10 Oct. 2025
Varma was determined to see Tweety avoid a fate that had befallen so many chicks at the farm both before and since that fateful day.
—Jack Beresford, MSNBC Newsweek, 10 Oct. 2025
The episode ends with a flashback to when Henry and Julia left for their fateful trip to Inverness.
—Kimberly Roots, TVLine, 10 Oct. 2025
Six days after spinning eight scoreless frames against the Boston Red Sox, rookie sensation Cam Schlittler will go for the Yankees, while the Blue Jays will go with a bullpen game started by Louis Varland — the same pitcher who allowed that fateful home run to Judge.
—Ryan Morik, FOXNews.com, 8 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for fateful
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Rosy Cordero, Deadline, 10 Oct. 2025
Varma was determined to see Tweety avoid a fate that had befallen so many chicks at the farm both before and since that fateful day.
—Jack Beresford, MSNBC Newsweek, 10 Oct. 2025
The episode ends with a flashback to when Henry and Julia left for their fateful trip to Inverness.
—Kimberly Roots, TVLine, 10 Oct. 2025
Six days after spinning eight scoreless frames against the Boston Red Sox, rookie sensation Cam Schlittler will go for the Yankees, while the Blue Jays will go with a bullpen game started by Louis Varland — the same pitcher who allowed that fateful home run to Judge.
—Ryan Morik, FOXNews.com, 8 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for fateful
Cite this Entry
“Fateful.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fateful. Accessed 20 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share