How to Use fateful in a Sentence

fateful

adjective
  • Her campaign took a fateful turn.
  • Hundreds perished on that fateful day.
  • His life changed on that fateful November evening.
  • Then came the fateful third frame.
    — Jace Frederick, Twin Cities, 28 Oct. 2025
  • But much else has changed for the pair in the decades since that fateful phone call.
    — Oscar Holland, CNN Money, 31 Oct. 2025
  • About half of the names of those who died on that fateful day are listed now.
    — Susan Dunne, courant.com, 10 Sep. 2020
  • Trump now confronts a fateful choice.
    — Karim Sadjadpour, The Atlantic, 16 Jan. 2026
  • But art might not have been her path if not for a fateful tragedy in her mid-20s.
    — New York Times, 1 Mar. 2021
  • That means some heads are going to roll at the fateful senior prom.
    — Steven Thrash, EW.com, 27 Oct. 2022
  • When the fateful night came, Jeanne hid in the bushes and watched.
    — Tori Telfer, refinery29.com, 24 Feb. 2021
  • That decision would prove the most fateful of their lives.
    — Natasha O'Neill, Vanity Fair, 3 Feb. 2026
  • Go back to the scene of that fateful meeting and propose at the very same place.
    — Alesandra Dubin, Good Housekeeping, 22 Jan. 2021
  • And be sure to try naengmyeon, also seen during their fateful plane ride.
    — Ali Wunderman, Vogue, 24 Sep. 2025
  • The person who came across him that fateful day wasn't willing to give up on him just yet.
    — George Monastiriakos, Newsweek, 30 Dec. 2024
  • And on that fateful day when the snail’s life ends, the rest of the trematode’s life begins.
    — Sabrina Imbler, The Atlantic, 16 Feb. 2021
  • What led to that fateful day unfolding?
    — Literary Hub, 10 Nov. 2025
  • Then came the battle with Domínguez and the fateful swing that turned the game on its head.
    — Cody Stavenhagen, New York Times, 25 June 2026
  • Holder was in the room with Pike and police on that fateful day.
    — Pj Green, Kansas City Star, 25 Feb. 2025
  • This is about the non-yield since the Sox went out of their way to lock him up in that fateful spring.
    — Dan Shaughnessy, BostonGlobe.com, 1 Apr. 2023
  • For Glick, things clicked for him after a fateful encounter with a book.
    — Thania Garcia, Variety, 6 Aug. 2025
  • No one knows which path O’Sullivan took that fateful morning.
    — Diane Bellcolumnist, San Diego Union-Tribune, 16 Apr. 2022
  • Gladys then pocketed those items in the middle of night to cast the fateful spell.
    — Brian Davids, HollywoodReporter, 25 Sep. 2025
  • Hedda’s smirk speaks volumes as the film flashes back to that fateful night.
    — Damon Wise, Deadline, 9 Sep. 2025
  • That fateful day, his dad was screaming at Silas for leaving the kitchen a mess.
    — Nick Romano, EW.com, 23 Nov. 2020
  • Rod isn't there for the band's fateful first meeting with Teddy.
    — Chelsey Sanchez, Harper's BAZAAR, 3 Mar. 2023
  • But the contest then seemed to turn on a fateful 41 seconds.
    — Mark Lazerus, New York Times, 25 May 2026
  • Needless to say, the witch schemes to reach Snow first, fateful apple in hand.
    — Dennis Harvey, Variety, 2 May 2025
  • Evans’ whirlwind legal problems all stem from the same fateful day.
    — Nate Gartrell, Mercury News, 5 Mar. 2026
  • Then a fateful Biden decision made things worse.
    — Literary Hub, 23 Mar. 2026
  • But when two friends sat down for a fateful meal in Tokyo, a big idea hit like a hearty dollop of wasabi.
    — Bill Plaschke, Los Angeles Times, 4 May 2023

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'fateful.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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