Fatals

Part of speech: noun, adjective

Definitions

1. Describing events or occurrences that result in death or serious consequences
2. Pertaining to situations that are crucial or pivotal in determining an outcome
3. Characterizing actions that lead to devastating repercussions or irreversible results

Etymology: "Fatals" is the plural of "fatal" used as a noun, and the adjective it comes from has a long Latin ancestry. The adjective traces back to Latin "fātālis", meaning "of fate" or "ordained by fate", formed from "fātum", "that which has been spoken", the past participle of "fārī", "to speak". Fate, in this sense, was literally a pronouncement, something said by the gods that could not be unsaid. The word reached English through Middle French "fatal", and its core idea has stayed the same from Roman times onward: something that settles what will happen. Over centuries "fatal" came to describe things that proved deadly, and later things that were simply decisive. The plural "fatals" is used for the crucial or pivotal moments that determine how a matter turns out, so the decisive sense of the adjective has been carried over into a noun form.

Synonyms: deadly events, fatalities, lethal incidents

Antonyms: nonfatal events, survivals