# fateful

/ˈfeɪtfəɫ/ (US) · /fˈeɪtfəl/ (UK)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/fateful
Updated: 2026-08-27

## Senses

### 1. momentous or life-changing

adjective · CEFR B2

very important because it has a big effect on what happens in the future.

For teachers: having momentous consequences; describing an event or decision that decisively determines a future outcome.

- On that fateful night in 2010, the two musicians met for the first time.
- The CEO made the fateful decision to reject the merger, a move that would eventually lead to the company's decline.

### 2. controlled by fate

adjective · CEFR C1 · Literary

controlled by fate or destiny rather than by choice.

For teachers: determined by or as if by fate; inevitable or predestined.

- He felt a fateful pull toward the ocean, as if he were meant to be a sailor.
- The protagonist's fateful encounter with the stranger seemed written in the stars long before the story began.

## Examples

- That fateful decision changed the course of his life.
- On that fateful afternoon in July, the two leaders signed the treaty that would eventually lead to war.
- Historians often point to that fateful meeting as the catalyst for the revolution, though the participants could not have foreseen the magnitude of the changes they were setting in motion.

---

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.