# fatality

/fəˈtæɫɪti/ (US) · /feɪtˈælɪti/ (UK)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/fatality
Updated: 2026-08-08

## Senses

### 1. a death from an accident

noun · CEFR C1 · Formal

a death that happens because of an accident, a war, or a natural disaster.

For teachers: a death resulting from a specific incident, such as a collision, natural catastrophe, or armed conflict.

- The police reported that there were no fatalities in the highway accident.
- Emergency services confirmed several fatalities following the structural collapse, though the exact number of victims remains unverified.

Usage: Often used in the plural when discussing statistics or official reports.

Teaching tip: Learners should note that 'fatality' is more formal and clinical than 'death'; it is the standard term for news reports and safety documents.

### 2. the quality of being fatal

noun · CEFR C2 · Technical · Academic

the power of something to cause death.

For teachers: the quality or state of being fatal; the capacity of a disease or condition to result in death.

- Doctors are worried about the high fatality rate of the new virus.
- The study examined the fatality of the pathogen across different age groups to determine which populations required urgent vaccination.

Usage: Commonly appears in the phrase 'fatality rate'.

Teaching tip: In medical and scientific contexts, this refers to the 'deadliness' of a condition rather than a specific person who died.

### 3. fate or destiny

noun · CEFR C2 · Literary · Formal

the idea that events are decided by fate and cannot be changed.

For teachers: the state of being determined by destiny or invincible necessity; the quality of being inevitable.

- He felt a sense of fatality, as if he could not avoid his problems.
- The protagonist's journey is marked by a grim sense of fatality, suggesting that his eventual downfall was written in the stars.

Teaching tip: This sense is rare in modern conversation and is mostly found in older literature or philosophical discussions about free will.

## Examples

- The police reported that there was one fatality in the car accident.
- Emergency services arrived quickly at the scene, but they confirmed at least one fatality due to the severity of the fire.
- While the structural damage to the city was extensive following the earthquake, the rapid evacuation meant that there was not a single fatality among the residents.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.