Dictionary
Find
in
Dictionary
Thesaurus
Translations

Click to move up the list of words
fat stock
fata morgana
Fatah, Al
fatal
fatalism
fatality
fatality rate
fatback
fate
fateful
Fates
fath
fathead
Father
father
Father Christmas
father confessor
Click to move down the list of words
Print Preview
See pronunciation key
Search for "fate" in all of MSN Encarta
E-mail this entry
Blog about this entry on MSN Spaces
Download the MSN Encarta Right-Click Dictionary

fate

fate [ fayt ]


noun  (plural fates)
Definition:
 
1. force predetermining events: the force or principle believed to predetermine events
little knew what fate had in store for him

2. outcome: a consequence or final result
What was the fate of the mission?

3. destiny: something with decisive or far-reaching consequences that inevitably happens to somebody or something
felt it was her fate to marry him

4. disastrous consequence: a disastrous or ruinous outcome



transitive verb  (past and past participle fat·ed, present participle fat·ing, 3rd person present singular fates)
Definition:
 
make something inevitable: to predetermine something, usually with negative results ( usually passive )

[14th century. < Latin fatum "something spoken (by the gods)" < past participle of fari "speak"]

fat·ed adjective

tempt fate to do something risky that depends too much on luck for success and might end in misfortune or disaster

Advertisement

Also on Encarta
Englishtown: Learn English online
Our Partners
Also on MSN
Encarta Message Boards (© Rubberball/Jupiterimages)
Shopping
© 2009 Microsoft