fatality

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

fatality — 名詞

  • fatalitysingular
  • fatalitiesplural

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

1.名詞B2
釋義

意外喪生

因事故、暴力或災難而導致的死亡或罹難者

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.

這場地震在整個地區造成兩百多人喪生。

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

警方證實，海岸附近橋樑倒塌後有六人不幸罹難。

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

致命性

能夠導致死亡或毀滅的內在特質

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

例句

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

第一週過後，醫生們就明白這種疾病的致命性了。

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

這種毒藥的致命性意味著即使一滴也能致死。

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.