Skip to content

fatal

fatal; deadly

adjective fa-TAHL Less Common
Descriptions & Qualities Quality

Origin: Latin 'fatalis' (decreed by fate)

Also means

fateful; inevitable

Usage Note

Fatal means causing death (une erreur fatale = a fatal mistake) but also carries the sense of fated or inevitable (le destin fatal). The feminine form is fatale, familiar to English speakers from the phrase femme fatale. The plural masculine is fatals (not fataux, unlike most adjectives ending in -al).

Examples

"Cette erreur lui a été fatale."

Natural Translation

That mistake proved fatal for him.

Explore French by topic