fatality

/fəˈtæləti/ (bre, ipa) · /feɪˈtæləti/ (ame, ipa) · /fā-ˈta-lə-tē fə-/ (ame, mw)

fatality — noun

  • fatalitysingular
  • fatalitiesplural

1. A death that results from an accident, a natural disaster, or an act of violence

1.名詞B2
釋義

A death that results from an accident, a natural disaster, or an act of violence — also used for a person who dies in such an event.

例句

The earthquake caused over two hundred fatalities across the region.

Police confirmed six fatalities after the bridge collapsed near the coast.

同義詞
  • death

    a broader term covering all kinds of death, including natural causes

  • casualty

    often used in military or disaster contexts for both deaths and injuries

  • victim

    focuses on the person rather than the event of dying

用法筆記

Often used in the plural form ('fatalities') in news reports and formal statements. Not used for deaths from natural causes such as old age or illness — it always implies an external cause (accident, disaster, or violence).

常見錯誤

❌His grandfather's fatality was peaceful.
✅His grandfather's death was peaceful.
💡'fatality' is only for deaths from accidents, violence, or disasters, not natural deaths.
❌He was fatality wounded in the crash.
✅He was fatally wounded in the crash.
💡'fatality' is a noun; the adverb is 'fatally'.

2. The quality that makes something able to cause death; deadliness.

2.名詞C1
釋義

The quality that makes something able to cause death; deadliness.

例句

Doctors understood the fatality of the disease after the first week.

The fatality of the poison meant even a single drop could kill.

pattern: the fatality of + [dangerous thing]

同義詞
  • deadliness

    the most direct synonym; slightly more common in everyday English

  • lethality

    often used in medical or military contexts; more technical

  • mortality

    refers to the condition of being subject to death rather than the power to cause it

反義詞
  • harmlessness

    the quality of being unable to cause harm or death

用法筆記

This sense is uncountable and abstract. Distinguish from sense 1 (ACCIDENTAL DEATH), which refers to actual deaths from specific events. Sense 2 describes an inherent quality — the power to kill.