[syn: fatal, fateful]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Fatal \Fa"tal\, a. [L. fatalis, fr. fatum: cf. F. fatal. See
Fate.]
1. Proceeding from, or appointed by, fate or destiny;
necessary; inevitable. [R.]
[1913 Webster]
These thing are fatal and necessary. --Tillotson.
[1913 Webster]
It was fatal to the king to fight for his money.
--Bacon.
[1913 Webster]
2. Foreboding death or great disaster. [R.]
[1913 Webster]
That fatal screech owl to our house
That nothing sung but death to us and ours. --Shak.
[1913 Webster]
3. Causing death or destruction; deadly; mortal; destructive;
calamitous; as, a fatal wound; a fatal disease; a fatal
day; a fatal error.
[1913 Webster]
WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):
fatal
adj 1: bringing death [ant: nonfatal]
2: having momentous consequences; of decisive importance; "that
fateful meeting of the U.N. when...it declared war on North
Korea"- Saturday Rev; "the fatal day of the election finally
arrived" [syn: fateful, fatal]
3: (of events) having extremely unfortunate or dire
consequences; bringing ruin; "the stock market crashed on
Black Friday"; "a calamitous defeat"; "the battle was a
disastrous end to a disastrous campaign"; "such doctrines, if
true, would be absolutely fatal to my theory"- Charles
Darwin; "it is fatal to enter any war without the will to win
it"- Douglas MacArthur; "a fateful error" [syn: black,
calamitous, disastrous, fatal, fateful]
4: controlled or decreed by fate; predetermined; "a fatal series
of events" [syn: fatal, fateful]
The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (19 January 2023):
fatal
Resulting in termination of the program.
(1997-08-03)