fate

 
Pronunciation: /feɪt/

noun

  • 1 [mass noun] the development of events outside a person’s control, regarded as predetermined by a supernatural power: fate decided his course for him his injury is a cruel twist of fate
  • [count noun] the course of someone’s life, or the outcome of a situation for someone or something, seen as outside their control: he stared at the faces of the committee, trying to guess his fate
  • [in singular] the inescapable death of a person: the guards led her to her fate
  • 2 (the Fates) Greek & Roman Mythology the three goddesses who preside over the birth and life of humans. Each person was thought of as a spindle, around which the three Fates (Clotho, Lachesis, and Atropos) would spin the thread of human destiny.
  • (Fates)another term for Norns.

verb

(be fated)
  • be destined to happen, turn out, or act in a particular way: [with infinitive]: the regime was fated to end badly

Phrases

a fate worse than death

see death.

seal someone's fate

make it inevitable that something unpleasant will happen to someone: he had cheated the boss and sealed his own fate

Derivatives

fatedness

noun

Origin:

late Middle English: from Italian fato or (later) from its source, Latin fatum 'that which has been spoken', from fari 'speak'