fates 1 of 2

noun

plural of fate
1
as in destinies
a state or end that seemingly has been decided beforehand the belief that it was this country's fate to extend from sea to sea

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2
as in outcomes
a condition or occurrence traceable to a cause the fate of the presidential election hinged on a few thousand votes in a single state

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3
as in deaths
the permanent stopping of all the vital bodily activities he met his fate in a tragic highway accident

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

fates

2 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of fate
as in destines
to determine the fate of in advance the warning that the lack of an advanced education will fate a person to a lifetime of below-average earnings

Synonyms & Similar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of fates
Noun
Similarly, for the protagonist of Conrad’s story, Captain Whalley, the true life is the life of ships, and changes of fates onshore seem only laterally relevant, near unreal. — Literary Hub, 26 Aug. 2026 Next came an exhibition around a creepy Howdy Doody-ish figure that met countless violent fates while being cast about mechanistically on chains in 2016. — Andy Battaglia, ARTnews.com, 20 Aug. 2026 Also unclear is the status of characters played by Gibson, Bridges, Kang, and Emmanuel, all of whom were in a plane that was shot down in the sequel, leaving their fates unknown. — Britt Hayes, Entertainment Weekly, 20 Aug. 2026 With Jax and many of the biker drama’s beloved characters meeting grisly fates, a traditional reunion was always unlikely. — Emily Blackwood, PEOPLE, 20 Aug. 2026 Last year, amid a blizzard of hirings and sackings at the upper level of the major houses, a group of top designers maintained a WhatsApp group chat dedicated to complaining about Sherman’s coverage of their fates. — Aidan McLaughlin, Vanity Fair, 19 Aug. 2026 Data centers are now a hot-button political issue that could determine some politicians' fates. — Emma Hinchliffe, Fortune, 11 Aug. 2026 Given the fates of the others, that has to count for something. — Brian Grubb, Vulture, 3 Aug. 2026 Their fates are reversing in early trading Thursday, with Micron surging higher and Adobe selling off. — Kevin Stankiewicz, CNBC, 30 July 2026
Verb
The expansion of the category and Nolan’s increased Oscar success since Dunkirk have changed his films’ Oscar fates. — Rebecca Ford, Vanity Fair, 22 July 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fates
  1. destinies
  2. outcomes
  3. deaths
  4. dooms
  5. consequences
  6. demises
  7. results
  8. passings
Noun
  • Meanwhile, Mirren wants to store her fest statue, which keeps mysteriously appearing next to an Oscar statuette, in its box in a different take on Karlovy Vary winners’ and trophies’ destinies.
    — Georg Szalai, HollywoodReporter, 27 June 2026
  • Drawn into a love story with a familiar collaborator as her path intersects with women of different ages and cultural backgrounds, all fighting to take control of their own destinies, Maxine finds herself on a journey of self-discovery that forces her to confront the choices shaping her life.
    — Jill Goldsmith, Deadline, 26 June 2026
Definition of destinies
Noun
  • Models ranked some outcomes more consistently than individual evaluators.
    — Steve Denning, Forbes.com, 31 Aug. 2026
  • That should give a sense of the wide range of outcomes that are capable for indies.
    — Brian Welk, IndieWire, 28 Aug. 2026
Definition of outcomes
Noun
  • In all three cases, authorities have appeared to suggest their deaths were accidental.
    — Ryan Young, CNN Money, 30 Aug. 2026
  • Nepal’s disaster agency said the death toll had climbed to 734 with 2,498 people missing, while Chinese authorities reported 16 deaths and 546 missing, including over a hundred Nepalis and people from over a dozen countries.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 30 Aug. 2026
Definition of deaths
Verb
  • Fans continue to ask Carney about Hadestown’s climactic moment, when Orpheus dooms Eurydice forever by turning to look at her on the road back from hell.
    — Jack Smart, PEOPLE, 23 July 2026
  • This dooms the kingdom to the tyrannical rule of the villainous Priscilla (Nikki Glaser), who swoops in and snatches the throne.
    — Kevin Giraud, Variety, 23 June 2026
Definition of dooms
Noun
  • Strong El Niño events, such as the one revving up in the tropical Pacific, have rarely spared the Golden State from significant and damaging consequences.
    — Andrew Freedman, CNN Money, 25 Aug. 2026
  • As the consequences of this strategically catastrophic campaign become ever more apparent, the New Right’s clout is set to grow, having opposed the war from the start.
    — Leonard A. Schuette, Foreign Affairs, 25 Aug. 2026
Definition of consequences
Noun
  • SpaceX, the commercial spaceflight company Musk founded in 2002, has endured a few more fiery demises of the mammoth Starship rocket since that explosive debut.
    — Eric Lagatta, USA Today, 1 May 2026
  • No reason was provided for the shops’ demises.
    — Michael Deeds, Idaho Statesman, 26 Nov. 2025
Definition of demises
Noun
  • Until there is a method to identify CTE in a living brain, the results of the collective efforts to make football safer won’t be known for another 15 to 20 years.
    — Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 28 Aug. 2026
  • The results helped engineers reconstruct the programming requirements needed for the BALDCU.
    — Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 28 Aug. 2026
Definition of results
Noun
  • What stood out most, however, was just how emotional the event was, particularly considering the many recent passings of some of our most beloved film and TV luminaries.
    — Marcus Jones, IndieWire, 2 Mar. 2026
  • When annual results are compiled each January, winners tend to be amateur grim reapers who predicted a mix of shocking young deaths and the passings of anyone over 90.
    — Christopher Borrelli, Chicago Tribune, 21 Jan. 2026
Definition of passings

Browse Nearby Words

fateful
fates
fathead
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Cite this Entry

“Fates.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fates. Accessed 1 Sep. 2026.

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