Fatality
/fəˈtælɪti/
nounB2
Definition
A fatality means that someone has died because of something bad like an accident, illness, or violence. It is often used when talking about serious events like car crashes, natural disasters, or wars where people lose their lives.
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See It in Action
Death caused by an accident, violence, or disease
- •The fatality rate in the accident was very high.
- •There were three fatalities in the fire last night.
- •The doctor reported a fatality due to the severe illness.
The state of being fatal or causing death
- •The fatality of the poison made it very dangerous.
- •The fatality of the injury was confirmed by the medical examiner.
Make It Stick
- ✓Think of "fatality" like "death" (A1 word), but used especially when talking about deaths caused by accidents or bad events
- ✓Picture a news report about a car crash that says there were "fatalities"—this means some people died in the crash
- ✓It's the sad feeling when you hear someone died because of something unexpected or harmful
- ✓Sounds like "fate-AL-ity" → imagine fate (destiny) deciding someone's life ends because of a serious event
- ✓Think of stories or movies where a disaster causes fatalities, meaning people lose their lives because of it
- ✓NOT like "injury" (someone is hurt but still alive); "fatality" means death happened
- ✓NOT like "illness" (can be treated or recovered from); "fatality" means death due to illness or accident
- ✓NOT like "accident" (the event itself); "fatality" is the result — the death caused by the accident
Try Other Words
- •Death: the end of life (Use in general or informal situations)
- •Casualty: a person injured or killed in an event (Use when you want to include both deaths and injuries)
- •Mortality: the state of being subject to death, or death rate (Use when talking about statistics or rates of death)
Unboxing
- •Word parts: "fatal" (causing death) + suffix "-ity" (state or quality)
- •Etymology: From Latin "fatalitas" meaning "fate, death," related to "fatalis" meaning deadly or causing death
- •Historical development: Used since the 15th century to mean the quality of causing death; later used to mean actual deaths from accidents or disease
- •Modern usage: Commonly used in news, reports, and statistics about deaths caused by accidents, disasters, or violence
Reflect & Connect
•How does the use of the word "fatality" affect the way we think about accidents or disasters compared to just saying "death"?
•Can you think of situations where it is important to talk about fatalities instead of just injuries or accidents?
Fill in the blanks
1.The report said there were several fatalities ___ the car accident on the highway.
2.When a fatality occurs, it means someone has ___ because of the event.
3.Unlike injuries, fatalities always result in ___.
4.The emergency team worked hard, but they could not prevent the ___.
5.Fatalities in natural disasters often lead to changes in ___ safety rules.
6.The word "fatality" is often used in official reports ___ describe deaths caused by accidents.
7.When discussing a disease, the fatality rate shows how many people ___ from it.