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
For a storyteller whose works revolve around complicated or slippery romances, life-altering revelations, and fateful everyday encounters, the brutality of the mafia and New York City street vigilantes feels far removed from her own.
—
Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 4 June 2026
Don’t the history-rewrite-people know that America was watching on that fateful day?
—Bea L. Hines, Miami Herald, 4 June 2026
Kahanamoku not only saved lives using his surfboard that fateful day off Corona del Mar, but the use of rescue boards was adopted around the world in the following years because of that rescue.
—Laylan Connelly, Oc Register, 3 June 2026
After two consecutive sweeps, few teams have entered this fateful last round with such force.
—Esfandiar Baraheni, New York Times, 3 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for fateful
Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 4 June 2026
Don’t the history-rewrite-people know that America was watching on that fateful day?
—Bea L. Hines, Miami Herald, 4 June 2026
Kahanamoku not only saved lives using his surfboard that fateful day off Corona del Mar, but the use of rescue boards was adopted around the world in the following years because of that rescue.
—Laylan Connelly, Oc Register, 3 June 2026
After two consecutive sweeps, few teams have entered this fateful last round with such force.
—Esfandiar Baraheni, New York Times, 3 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for fateful
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fateful
Adjective
-
This study marks the first to use that data to model climate as rising temperatures are expected to fuel more disastrous events, from marine heat waves that kill coral to droughts.—
Jenny Staletovich,
Sun Sentinel,
14 June 2026
-
The next two decades were mostly disastrous.—
Sean Gregory,
Time,
14 June 2026
Adjective
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Drug dealers mix fentanyl, because of its potency and low cost, with other drugs including heroin, methamphetamine and cocaine, which increases the likelihood of a fatal dose, according to the DEA.—
Rosalio Ahumada,
Sacbee.com,
16 June 2026
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Other fatal skydiving crashes in Missouri Sunday’s crash was at least the fourth deadly skydiving incident in Missouri since 1998.—
Ben Wheeler,
Kansas City Star,
16 June 2026
Adjective
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So that was just an unfortunate situation, but everything’s OK.—
Zach Dean,
FOXNews.com,
12 June 2026
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Getting into a dispute with your neighbor is an unfortunate but all-too-common predicament for many homeowners.—
Michele Laufik,
Martha Stewart,
11 June 2026
Adjective
-
During The Great Dying, massive volcanic eruptions triggered catastrophic climate changes that altered the planet’s entire biosphere.—
Laura Baisas,
Popular Science,
18 June 2026
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Only the United States was humiliated; both countries have experienced a catastrophic loss.—
Graeme Wood,
The Atlantic,
18 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Fateful.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fateful. Accessed 19 Jun. 2026.
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