Definition

1. Noun:
   • A philosophical doctrine: The belief that all events are predetermined and inevitable, and that human beings cannot change them.
   • A submissive attitude: A mental attitude of passive acceptance, resulting from the belief that all events are inevitable.

Usage Examples

• Noun (Philosophical Doctrine):
  • Ancient Greek tragedies often explore the theme of fatalism.
  • His belief in fatalism led him to think that planning for the future was pointless.
• Noun (Submissive Attitude):
  • A sense of fatalism settled over the community after the repeated natural disasters.
  • She faced her diagnosis not with fear, but with a quiet fatalism.

Advanced Usage

• "Cultural fatalism": A widespread attitude of resignation within a culture or society.
  • The report criticized the culture of fatalism that hindered economic progress.
• "Resigned to fatalism": Having fully accepted that outcomes are inevitable.
  • After years of setbacks, he was resigned to a kind of weary fatalism.

Variants and Related Words

• Fatalist (noun): A person who believes in fatalism.
  • As a fatalist, he rarely worried about the consequences of his actions.
• Fatalistic (adjective): Showing a belief in fatalism; characterized by acceptance of inevitable events.
  • She had a fatalistic view that whatever will be, will be.

Synonyms

• Determinism: (Philosophical) The doctrine that all events, including human action, are ultimately determined by causes external to the will.
• Predestination: (Theological) The belief that all events have been willed by God, especially concerning the fate of the soul.
• Resignation: Acceptance of something undesirable but inevitable.

Antonyms

• Free will: The power of acting without the constraint of necessity or fate.
• Agency: The capacity of individuals to act independently and make their own free choices.
• Voluntarism: The doctrine that the will is a fundamental or dominant factor in the individual or the universe.

Related Idioms and Phrases

• "What will be, will be": A common phrase expressing a fatalistic outlook, suggesting acceptance of the future as predetermined.
  • He didn't prepare for the interview, just saying, "What will be, will be."

Noun

1. a philosophical doctrine holding that all events are predetermined in advance for all time and human beings are powerless to change them
2. a submissive mental attitude resulting from acceptance of the doctrine that everything that happens is predetermined and inevitable