fatal

(fāt'l)
adj.

1. Causing or capable of causing death.
2. Causing ruin or destruction; disastrous: "Such doctrines, if true, would be absolutely fatal to my theory" (Charles Darwin).
3. Of decisive importance; fateful: came through at the fatal moment.
4. Concerning or determining one's fate: the fatal thread of life.
5. Obsolete. Having been destined; fated.

[Middle English, fateful, from Old French, from Latin fātālis, from fātum, prophecy, doom. See fate.]

SYNONYMS   fatal, deadly, mortal, lethal. These adjectives apply to what causes or is likely to cause death. Fatal describes conditions, circumstances, or events that have caused or are destined to cause death or dire consequences: a fatal illness. Deadly means capable of killing: a deadly poison. Mortal describes a condition or action that produces death: a mortal wound. Lethal refers to a sure agent of death that may have been created solely for the purpose of killing: execution by lethal injection.

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adjective

1. So critically decisive as to affect the future: fateful, momentous. See decide/hesitate.
2. Causing or tending to cause death: deadly, deathly, lethal, mortal, vital. See live/die.
3. Causing ruin or destruction: calamitous, cataclysmal, cataclysmic, catastrophic, destructive, disastrous, fateful, ruinous. See help/harm/harmless.

adj

Definition: critical, very important
Antonyms: trivial, unimportant, unnecessary

adj

Definition: deadly, lethal
Antonyms: healthful, life-giving, nourishing, vital, wholesome

This entry contains information applicable to United States law only.

Deadly or mortal; destructive; devastating.

A fatal error in legal procedure is one that is of such a substantial nature as to harm unjustly the person who complains about it. It is synonymous with reversible error, which, in appellate practice, warrants the reversal of the judgment before the appellate court for review. A fatal error can warrant a new trial.

A fatal injury is one that results in death. It is distinguished from a disability in accident and disability insurance policies, which includes those injuries that prevent the insured from doing his or her regular job but do not result in his or her death.

IN BRIEF: Causing death. Also: disastrous or very unfortunate.

The fatal accident was caused by a drunken driver.

Tutor's tip: Certain "fetal" (relating to a fetus) problems can unfortunately be "fatal" (deadly; critical) to the mother.

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Causing death; deadly; mortal; lethal.

For a list of words related to fatal, see:

• Diagnostic Terminology - fatal: (adj) causing death

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See words rhyming with "fatal."

  See crossword solutions for the clue Fatal.

Dansk (Danish)
adj. - fatal, dødbringende, skæbnesvanger

idioms:

• fatal error    dødbringende fejltagelse

Nederlands (Dutch)
fataal, noodlottig, onafwendbaar, voorbestemd, lotsbepalend

Français (French)
adj. - fatal, mortel, funeste

idioms:

• fatal error    erreur fatale

Deutsch (German)
adj. - tödlich, schicksalsschwer, fatal, unvermeidlich

idioms:

• fatal error    (Comp) schwerer Fehler

Ελληνική (Greek)
adj. - μοιραίος, θανάσιμος, θανατηφόρος, καταστρεπτικός, ολέθριος

idioms:

• fatal error    μοιραίο λάθος

Italiano (Italian)
fatale, mortale, funesto

Português (Portuguese)
adj. - fatal

Русский (Russian)
фатальный, смертельный, роковой, губительный

Español (Spanish)
adj. - fatal, funesto, desastroso

idioms:

• fatal error    error fatal

Svenska (Swedish)
adj. - dödlig, olycksbringande

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
致命的, 命运注定的, 重大的

idioms:

• fatal error    致命错误

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
adj. - 致命的, 命運注定的, 重大的

idioms:

• fatal error    致命錯誤

한국어 (Korean)
adj. - 치명적인, 파멸적인

日本語 (Japanese)
adj. - 致命的な, 運命を左右する, 宿命的な, 取り返しのつかない, 重大な

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(صفه) مميت , قاتل , محتوم‏

עברית (Hebrew)
adj. - ‮גורלי, קטלני, מכריע, פטאלי‬

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