fate
1 of 2noun
ˈfāt 
1
: the will or principle or determining cause by which things in general are believed to come to be as they are or events to happen as they do : destiny
… fate sometimes deals a straight flush … he had no idea that he would become the right man in the right place at the right time …
June Goodfield
June Goodfield2
a
: an inevitable and often adverse outcome, condition, or end
Her fate was to remain in exile.
b
: disaster
especially : death
The villain met his fate at the hands of the hero.
3
a
: final outcome
Congress decided the bill's fate by a single vote.
b
: the expected result of normal development
prospective fate of embryonic cells
c
: the circumstances that befall someone or something
did not know the fate of her former classmates
4
Fates plural : the three goddesses, Atropos, Clotho, and Lachesis, who determine the course of human life in classical mythology
fate
2 of 2verb
ˈfāt
fated; fating
transitive verb
: destine
also : doom
Synonyms
Noun
- circumstance
- destiny
- doom
- fortune
- kismet
- lot
- portion
Verb
- destine
- doom
- foredoom
- foreordain
- ordain
- predestine
- predetermine
- preordain
See all Synonyms & Antonyms 
Example Sentences
Noun … the fate of our species is bound up with those of countless others, with which we share a habitat that we cannot long dominate … John Gray, Times Literary Supplement, 11 Sept. 1992 So what went wrong? I ask Syd again, glancing ahead to the inevitable end. What quirk of fate, this time round, Syd, checked the great man's stride? John le Carré, A Perfect Spy, 1986 Often there is a specified character on whom a work hinges and whose fate we follow, a Raskolnikov or a Hamlet … Robert Penn Warren, Democracy and Poetry, 1975 The money goes down one-two-three on the table, fives and tens and twenties, and the wheel begins to spin. Round and round she goes, where she stops nobody knows. It's up to fate. Kismet, as they say. Mordecai Richler, The Apprenticeship Of Duddy Kravitz, 1959 They thought they would never see each other again, but fate brought them back together. a surprising turn of fate One company went bankrupt, and a similar fate befell the other. Her fate was sealed by the marriage arrangement made in her youth. Verb Given what was going on when the magazine was started, Utne Reader seems fated to have happened—it was simply an idea that fit the times. Eric Utne, Utne Reader, March/April 1994 It was during this interregnum between the acquisition of regional power and the actual use of it that Henderson was fated to enter the picture. Robert D. Kaplan, The Arabists, 1993 Who are my viewing companions at this hour? Dazed and confused, we are isolated in sunken couches, empty beds and cheap hotel rooms across this crumbling nation, one through MTV but fated never to meet. Hugh Gallagher, Rolling Stone, 29 Apr. 1993 the warning that the lack of an advanced education will fate a person to a lifetime of below-average earnings See More
John Gray, Times Literary Supplement, 11 Sept. 1992 So what went wrong? I ask Syd again, glancing ahead to the inevitable end. What quirk of fate, this time round, Syd, checked the great man's stride? John le Carré, A Perfect Spy, 1986 Often there is a specified character on whom a work hinges and whose fate we follow, a Raskolnikov or a Hamlet … Robert Penn Warren, Democracy and Poetry, 1975 The money goes down one-two-three on the table, fives and tens and twenties, and the wheel begins to spin. Round and round she goes, where she stops nobody knows. It's up to fate. Kismet, as they say. Mordecai Richler, The Apprenticeship Of Duddy Kravitz, 1959 They thought they would never see each other again, but fate brought them back together. a surprising turn of fate One company went bankrupt, and a similar fate befell the other. Her fate was sealed by the marriage arrangement made in her youth. Verb Given what was going on when the magazine was started, Utne Reader seems fated to have happened—it was simply an idea that fit the times. Eric Utne, Utne Reader, March/April 1994 It was during this interregnum between the acquisition of regional power and the actual use of it that Henderson was fated to enter the picture. Robert D. Kaplan, The Arabists, 1993 Who are my viewing companions at this hour? Dazed and confused, we are isolated in sunken couches, empty beds and cheap hotel rooms across this crumbling nation, one through MTV but fated never to meet. Hugh Gallagher, Rolling Stone, 29 Apr. 1993 the warning that the lack of an advanced education will fate a person to a lifetime of below-average earnings See More Recent Examples on the Web Grace Segers, The New Republic, 13 Sep. 2022 In the spring of 2020, meatpacking plants were shutting down as workers contracted the virus, and Yuma’s agricultural sector wanted to prevent a similar fate. Sarah Lapidus, The Arizona Republic, 13 Sep. 2022 The series could determine the playoff fate for both teams. Paul Hoynes, cleveland, 12 Sep. 2022 Then in January, Cardenas addressed the bargain’s fate again. Austin Fuller, Orlando Sentinel, 12 Sep. 2022 The Arena’s fate is complicated because of several factors, some of which are unique to Mobile including Mardi Gras. al, 12 Sep. 2022 Because of that move, the fate of forty thousand current lawsuits and the possibility of future claims by cancer victims or their survivors now rests with a single bankruptcy judge in the company’s home state, New Jersey. Casey Cep, The New Yorker, 12 Sep. 2022 The series opens on his corpse, so JP’s ultimate fate is never in question. Los Angeles Times, 9 Sep. 2022 Keith Nelson is a writer by fate and journalist by passion, who has connected dots to form the bigger picture for Men’s Health, Vibe Magazine, LEVEL MAG, REVOLT TV, Complex, Grammys.com, Red Bull, Okayplayer, and Mic, to name a few. Keith Nelson, Men's Health, 8 Sep. 2022 K. Austin Collins, Rolling Stone, 16 July 2022 Bohjalian tracks his players as keenly as a leopard does its prey, matching psychology to fate with an almost pathological precision. Bethanne Patrick, Los Angeles Times, 9 May 2022 The effort was too much and the young animal succumbed to fate, sliding down the snow into the abyss. Steve Meyer, Anchorage Daily News, 6 Mar. 2022 Donald Trump cut a deal with the Taliban that left the future of the Afghan government, Afghan women, and al‑Qaeda to fate. George Packer, The Atlantic, 31 Jan. 2022 Well, that’s a little bit up to them, a little bit up to fate. Hayden Grove, cleveland, 7 Sep. 2021 Kyland volunteers, the Aces leave their nomination to fate, and Christian is down to compete knowing that Frenchie is probably targeting him. Kyle Fowle, EW.com, 12 July 2021 To be a baker, Lidgus explains, is to be half control freak, half submissive to fate; to embrace a life of eternal adjustments. New York Times, 26 Mar. 2021 Trump, in a statement from Walter Reed hospital on Saturday, chalked up his diagnosis to fate and his desire to be seen leading the country. Josh Wingrove, Bloomberg.com, 4 Oct. 2020 See More
Noun
But as these discussions entered their final stages, Schumer and Manchin became the last men standing; the fate of the bill in their hands alone. Grace Segers, The New Republic, 13 Sep. 2022 In the spring of 2020, meatpacking plants were shutting down as workers contracted the virus, and Yuma’s agricultural sector wanted to prevent a similar fate. Sarah Lapidus, The Arizona Republic, 13 Sep. 2022 The series could determine the playoff fate for both teams. Paul Hoynes, cleveland, 12 Sep. 2022 Then in January, Cardenas addressed the bargain’s fate again. Austin Fuller, Orlando Sentinel, 12 Sep. 2022 The Arena’s fate is complicated because of several factors, some of which are unique to Mobile including Mardi Gras. al, 12 Sep. 2022 Because of that move, the fate of forty thousand current lawsuits and the possibility of future claims by cancer victims or their survivors now rests with a single bankruptcy judge in the company’s home state, New Jersey. Casey Cep, The New Yorker, 12 Sep. 2022 The series opens on his corpse, so JP’s ultimate fate is never in question. Los Angeles Times, 9 Sep. 2022 Keith Nelson is a writer by fate and journalist by passion, who has connected dots to form the bigger picture for Men’s Health, Vibe Magazine, LEVEL MAG, REVOLT TV, Complex, Grammys.com, Red Bull, Okayplayer, and Mic, to name a few. Keith Nelson, Men's Health, 8 Sep. 2022 Verb
At the very least, everyone seems to make her fate their problem. K. Austin Collins, Rolling Stone, 16 July 2022 Bohjalian tracks his players as keenly as a leopard does its prey, matching psychology to fate with an almost pathological precision. Bethanne Patrick, Los Angeles Times, 9 May 2022 The effort was too much and the young animal succumbed to fate, sliding down the snow into the abyss. Steve Meyer, Anchorage Daily News, 6 Mar. 2022 Donald Trump cut a deal with the Taliban that left the future of the Afghan government, Afghan women, and al‑Qaeda to fate. George Packer, The Atlantic, 31 Jan. 2022 Well, that’s a little bit up to them, a little bit up to fate. Hayden Grove, cleveland, 7 Sep. 2021 Kyland volunteers, the Aces leave their nomination to fate, and Christian is down to compete knowing that Frenchie is probably targeting him. Kyle Fowle, EW.com, 12 July 2021 To be a baker, Lidgus explains, is to be half control freak, half submissive to fate; to embrace a life of eternal adjustments. New York Times, 26 Mar. 2021 Trump, in a statement from Walter Reed hospital on Saturday, chalked up his diagnosis to fate and his desire to be seen leading the country. Josh Wingrove, Bloomberg.com, 4 Oct. 2020 See More Word History
Etymology
Noun and Verb
Middle English, from Middle French or Latin; Middle French, from Latin fatum, literally, what has been spoken, from neuter of fatus, past participle of fari to speak — more at ban entry 1
First Known Use
Noun
14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Verb
1601, in the meaning defined above
Phrases Containing fate
Kids Definition
fate
noun
ˈfāt
1
: a power beyond human control that is believed to determine what happens : destiny
It was fate that brought them together.
2
: something that happens as though determined by fate : fortune
She stood … watching the sad fate of her comrades … L. Frank Baum, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
L. Frank Baum, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz3
: final outcome
Voters will decide the fate of the election.
Medical Definition
fate
noun
ˈfāt
: the expected result of normal development
prospective fate of embryonic cells
fating
verb
as in destining
to determine the fate of in advance the warning that the lack of an advanced education will fate a person to a lifetime of below-average earnings Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
- destining
- dooming
- ordaining
- foredooming
- foreordaining
- predestining
- condemning
- preordaining
- predicting
- predetermining
- predestinating
- presaging
- foretelling
- sentencing
- prophesying
- preconceiving
- auguring
- anticipating
- boding
- forecasting
- prognosticating
- foreseeing
- divining
- portending
- prejudging
- foreknowing
- foreboding
- forboding