fatal

[ feyt-l ]
/ ˈfeɪt l /

adjective

Origin of fatal

1350–1400; Middle English (< Old French) < Latin fātālis of fate. See fate, -al1

SYNONYMS FOR fatal

1 Fatal, deadly, lethal, mortal apply to something that has caused or is capable of causing death. Fatal may refer to either the future or the past; in either case, it emphasizes inevitability and the inescapable—the disastrous, whether death or dire misfortune: The accident was fatal. Such a mistake would be fatal. Deadly looks to the future, and suggests that which is likely to cause death (though not inevitably so): a deadly poison, disease. Like deadly, lethal looks to the future but, like many other words of Latin origin, suggests a more technical usage: a lethal dose; a gas that is lethal. Mortal looks to the past and refers to death that has actually occurred: He received a mortal wound. The disease proved to be mortal.
2 ruinous, disastrous, calamitous, catastrophic, devastating.
4 predestined, foreordained.

ANTONYMS FOR fatal

1 life-giving.

OTHER WORDS FROM fatal

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH fatal

fatal fateful fetal (see synonym study at the current entry)

Words nearby fatal

fat-soluble vitamin, fat-tailed sheep, fat-witted, fata morgana, fatah, fatal, fatalism, fatality, fatality rate, fatally, fatback

Example sentences from the Web for nonfatal

  • Apoplexy may be termed a general paralysis, and in nonfatal attacks is a frequent cause of the various forms of palsy.

    Special Report on Diseases of the Horse |United States Department of Agriculture

British Dictionary definitions for nonfatal (1 of 2)

nonfatal
/ (ˌnɒnˈfeɪtəl) /

adjective

not resulting in or capable of causing death

British Dictionary definitions for nonfatal (2 of 2)

fatal
/ (ˈfeɪtəl) /

adjective

resulting in or capable of causing death a fatal accident
bringing ruin; disastrous
decisively important; fateful
decreed by fate; destined; inevitable

Word Origin for fatal

C14: from Old French fatal or Latin fātālis, from fātum, see fate

Medical definitions for nonfatal

fatal
[ fāt′l ]

adj.

Causing or capable of causing death.