as in disastrous
bringing about ruin or misfortune
a fateful encounter with a confidence man that they would long regret
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Recent Examples of fateful
The disaster led to a fateful decision that many now believe held the city back — something that will finally be corrected this year, on May 8.
—
Deputy Managing Editor, Los Angeles Times, 13 Mar. 2026
Emt made his Paralympic debut in Pyeongchang in 2018, five years after that fateful encounter.
—Rachel Treisman, NPR, 10 Mar. 2026
One fateful day when the newsroom was short-staffed, bosses asked the green college student to step in.
—Madeleine Marr, Miami Herald, 6 Mar. 2026
Evans’ whirlwind legal problems all stem from the same fateful day.
—Nate Gartrell, Mercury News, 5 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for fateful
Deputy Managing Editor, Los Angeles Times, 13 Mar. 2026
Emt made his Paralympic debut in Pyeongchang in 2018, five years after that fateful encounter.
—Rachel Treisman, NPR, 10 Mar. 2026
One fateful day when the newsroom was short-staffed, bosses asked the green college student to step in.
—Madeleine Marr, Miami Herald, 6 Mar. 2026
Evans’ whirlwind legal problems all stem from the same fateful day.
—Nate Gartrell, Mercury News, 5 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for fateful
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fateful
Adjective
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Each hot run was countered by a disastrous stretch for seemingly everyone.—
Gabby Herzig,
New York Times,
15 Mar. 2026
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But two disastrous seasons followed that campaign, with the Hurricanes going a combined 22-41 in 2023-24 and 2024-25.—
Adam Lichtenstein,
Sun Sentinel,
15 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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The killing is Kansas City’s 27th homicide of 2026, which lines up exactly with the 27 homicides the city had seen at this time last year, according to data kept by The Star, which includes fatal police shootings.—
Nathan Pilling
March 17,
Kansas City Star,
18 Mar. 2026
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Investigators argued the fatal poisoning was not the first attempt on Eric Richins’ life.—
Stepheny Price,
FOXNews.com,
17 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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The interviews themselves are informative, but unobtrusive, and the while intimate footage of Frazier and Reynolds’ personal lives paints a slightly wider picture of their circumstances, their moods in the aftermath of their unfortunate digital breakthroughs is kept largely at an arm’s length.—
Siddhant Adlakha,
Variety,
14 Mar. 2026
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Juicy is in the unfortunate position of following Jane.—
Jason P. Frank,
Vulture,
14 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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After a catastrophic debris strike destroys their shuttle during a spacewalk, Sandra Bullock’s astronaut is left untethered, spinning silently against the vastness of space, while George Clooney’s veteran astronaut tries to guide her from a distance.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
19 Mar. 2026
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Conversely, every era of catastrophic government failure—the late Roman Republic, the Thirty Years’ War, the collapse of Weimar Germany—witnessed a period in which elites decided that process was a mere suggestion and that their own judgment was sufficient cause to ignore it.—
Anthony Scaramucci,
Fortune,
19 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Fateful.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fateful. Accessed 21 Mar. 2026.
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