1
a
: causing death
a fatal crash
a fatal disease
a fatal wound
b
: bringing ruin
a fatal attraction to gambling
c
: causing failure
a fatal design flaw
Lack of sufficient support was fatal to his campaign.
2
a
: determining one's fate
the fatal flaw in this dazzling woman: a total lack of taste—
Marya Mannes
Marya Mannes
b
: of or relating to fate
… this science sets a fatal necessity on things …—H. O. Taylor
H. O. Taylor
c
: resembling fate in proceeding according to a fixed sequence
3
: fateful
a fatal hour
4
obsolete
: fated
Synonyms
Examples of fatal in a Sentence
a disease that is often fatal
a chemical that can be fatal to birds
She made a fatal mistake.
Recent Examples on the Web
All of the women were denied abortions despite facing fatal fetal diagnoses, life-threatening health risks or both.
—Bayliss Wagner, Austin American-Statesman, 22 Nov. 2024
The fatal collision remains under investigation by Indianapolis Metropolitan Police.
—Sarah Nelson, The Indianapolis Star, 21 Nov. 2024
However, plaintiff’s claim suffers another fatal flaw that mandates dismissal at the pleading stage: the Copyright Act expressly provides that only a legal or beneficial owner of an exclusive copyright right may sue for infringement.
—Nancy Dillon, Rolling Stone, 21 Nov. 2024
Most organizations use relational databases, which can have fatal flaws when used directly with an LLM.
—Brian Platz, Forbes, 21 Nov. 2024
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Bayliss Wagner, Austin American-Statesman, 22 Nov. 2024
The fatal collision remains under investigation by Indianapolis Metropolitan Police.
—Sarah Nelson, The Indianapolis Star, 21 Nov. 2024
However, plaintiff’s claim suffers another fatal flaw that mandates dismissal at the pleading stage: the Copyright Act expressly provides that only a legal or beneficial owner of an exclusive copyright right may sue for infringement.
—Nancy Dillon, Rolling Stone, 21 Nov. 2024
Most organizations use relational databases, which can have fatal flaws when used directly with an LLM.
—Brian Platz, Forbes, 21 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for fatal
Articles Related to fatal
Dictionary Entries Near fatal
Cite this Entry
“Fatal.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fatal. Accessed 30 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
Medical Definition
Legal Definition
fatal
adjective
fa·tal
1
: causing failure of a legal claim or cause of action
a fatal defect in the proceedings—W. R. LaFave and J. H. Israel
W. R. LaFave and J. H. Israel2
: making something (as a contract) invalid or unenforceable
there is a fatal indefiniteness with the result that the agreement is void—J. D. Calamari and J. M. Perillo
J. D. Calamari and J. M. Perillo
fatally
adverb
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