First Known Use: 14th century
Dictionary
1fate
noun \ˈfāt\
: a power that is believed to control what happens in the future
: the things that will happen to a person or thing : the future that someone or something will have
Full Definition of FATE
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
2
a : an inevitable and often adverse outcome, condition, or end b : disaster; especially : death
3
a : final outcome 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
plural capitalized : the three goddesses who determine the course of human life in classical mythology
See fate defined for English-language learners
See fate defined for kids
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Examples of FATE
- … the —fateof 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
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Origin of FATE
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
Related to FATE
Synonym Discussion of FATE
fate, destiny, lot, portion, doom mean a predetermined state or end. fate implies an inevitable and usually an adverse outcome <the fate of the submarine is unknown>. destiny implies something foreordained and often suggests a great or noble course or end <the country's destiny to be a model of liberty to the world>. lot and portion imply a distribution by fate or destiny, lot suggesting blind chance <it was her lot to die childless>, portion implying the apportioning of good and evil <remorse was his daily portion>. doom distinctly implies a grim or calamitous fate <if the rebellion fails, his doom is certain>.
2fate
verb \ˈfāt\
fat·edfat·ing
Definition of FATE
transitive verb
Examples of FATE
- 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
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Origin of FATE
(see 1fate)
First Known Use: 1601
Related to FATE
- Synonyms
- doom, destine, foredoom, foreordain, ordain, predestine, predetermine, preordain
FATE Defined for Kids
fate
noun \ˈfāt\
Definition of FATE for Kids
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 Wizard of Oz>
3
: final outcome <Voters will decide the fate of the election.>
Medical Dictionary
fate
noun \ˈfāt\
Medical Definition of FATE
: the expected result of normal development <prospective fate of embryonic cells>
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