fatality
/fə'tæliti/
Definition
Noun 1. A death caused by an accident, disaster, or violent event. * This is the most common meaning, referring to a specific instance of a person being killed. 2. The quality of being destined to end in death or disaster; inevitability. * This is a more formal or literary meaning, referring to the fatal or doomed nature of a situation. 3. (Archaic) The power of being fatal; deadliness. * This older sense refers to the capacity of something to cause death.
Examples of Usage
- Meaning 1 (A death):
- The earthquake resulted in numerous fatalities.
- There were no fatalities reported in the factory fire, only injuries.
- Speeding is a major cause of traffic fatalities.
- Meaning 2 (Inevitability of disaster):
- There was a sense of fatality about the doomed expedition from the start.
- The play's tragic fatality is established in the opening scene.
Advanced Usage
- "Fatality rate": A statistical measure expressing the proportion of cases of a disease or event that result in death.
- The fatality rate for the disease has decreased with new treatments.
- Used with modifiers: Often preceded by adjectives specifying the cause or context (e.g., , , ).
Variants and Related Words
- Fatal (adj): Causing death; having disastrous consequences.
- a fatal injury; a fatal mistake.
- Fatalism (n): The belief that all events are predetermined and inevitable.
- Fatalist (n): A person who believes in fatalism.
- Fatally (adv): In a manner leading to death or disaster.
- He was fatally wounded.
Synonyms
- For Meaning 1 (A death): casualty, death, loss, mortal victim.
- For Meaning 2 (Inevitability): inevitability, predestination, doom.
Antonyms
- For Meaning 1 (A death): survival.
- For Meaning 2 (Inevitability): avoidability, chance.
Noun
-
the quality of being able to cause death or fatal disasters
-
a death resulting from an accident or a disaster
-
a decrease in the number of automobile fatalities
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