fateful
- 01 B2 Upper Intermediate
very important because it has a big effect on what happens in the future.
having momentous consequences; describing an event or decision that decisively determines a future outcome.
Simple“On that fateful night in 2010, the two musicians met for the first time.”
In context“The CEO made the fateful decision to reject the merger, a move that would eventually lead to the company's decline.”
PitfallIt was a fatal decision for the company's growth. It was a fateful decision for the company's growth.Use 'fatal' for something that causes death or total failure; use 'fateful' for something that simply changes the future in a major way.
Antonyms - 02 C1 Advanced
controlled by fate or destiny rather than by choice.
determined by or as if by fate; inevitable or predestined.
Simple“He felt a fateful pull toward the ocean, as if he were meant to be a sailor.”
In context“The protagonist's fateful encounter with the stranger seemed written in the stars long before the story began.”
SynonymsAntonyms
From fate + -ful.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.