fatale

fatal

adjective fah-TAH-leh Less Common

Origin: Latin fatalis, from fatum, fate

Also means

deadly

Usage Note

Fatale does not change for gender (un errore fatale / una ferita fatale); only the plural fatali differs. It can mean literally deadly (incidente fatale) or figuratively inescapable (attrazione fatale = fatal attraction). The phrase donna fatale is a direct Italian equivalent of 'femme fatale.'

Examples

"Quell'errore si è rivelato fatale."

Natural Translation

That mistake proved fatal.

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