different between fatal vs dreadful

English

Etymology

From Middle French fatal, from Latin f?t?lis (“fatal”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?fe?t?l/
  • (General American) IPA^(key): [?fe?.???]
• Rhymes: -e?t?l

Adjective

fatal (not comparable)

1. Proceeding from, or appointed by, fate or destiny.
2. Foreboding death or great disaster.
3. Causing death or destruction.
4. (computing) Causing a sudden end to the running of a program.

Synonyms

• (proceeding from fate): inevitable, necessary
• (foreboding death): terminal
• (causing death): calamitous, deadly, destructive, mortal

Derived terms

Translations

Noun

fatal (plural fatals)

1. A fatality; an event that leads to death.
   • 1969, United States. Congress. House. Committee on Education, Hearings (page 90)

     For this same period there have been four fatals and 44 nonfatals in gassy mines.

   • 1999, Flying Magazine (volume 126, number 4, April 1999, page 15)

     The best accident rate in general aviation is in corporate/executive flying at 0.17 per 100000 hours for fatals and .50 for total accidents.

2. (computing) A fatal error; a failure that causes a program to terminate.

Anagrams

• A flat, A-flat, a flat, a-flat, aflat

Catalan

Etymology

From Latin f?t?lis (“fatal”).

Pronunciation

• (Balearic, Central) IPA^(key): /f??tal/
• (Valencian) IPA^(key): /fa?tal/
• Homophone: fetal (Balearic, Central)
• Rhymes: -al

Adjective

fatal (masculine and feminine plural fatals)

1. fatal

Derived terms

• fatalisme
• fatalista
• fatalment

Related terms

• fatalitat

Further reading

• “fatal” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.

Danish

Etymology

From Latin f?t?lis (“fatal”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /fata?l/, [fa?t?æ??l]

Adjective

fatal

1. fatal

Inflection

Synonyms

• skæbnesvanger

Derived terms

• fatalisme

French

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin f?t?lis.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /fa.tal/
• Rhymes: -al

Adjective

fatal (feminine singular fatale, masculine plural fatals, feminine plural fatales)

1. fatal (due to fate)
2. fatal (causing death)

Derived terms

• fatalement
• fatalisme
• fataliste
• femme fatale

Related terms

• fatalité

Further reading

• “fatal” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

German

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin f?t?lis.

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -a?l

Adjective

fatal (comparative fataler, superlative am fatalsten)

1. fatal

Declension

Indonesian

Etymology

From Dutch fataal, from Middle French fatal, from Latin f?t?lis.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [?fatal]
• Hyphenation: fa?tal

Adjective

fatal

1. fatal,
   1. causing death or destruction.

      Synonym: celaka

   2. proceeding from, or appointed by, fate or destiny; inevitable.

Further reading

• “fatal” in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia (KBBI) Daring, Jakarta: Badan Pengembangan dan Pembinaan Bahasa, Kementerian Pendidikan dan Kebudayaan Republik Indonesia, 2016.

Middle French

Etymology

First known attestation 1380, borrowed from Latin f?t?lis

Adjective

fatal m (feminine singular fatale, masculine plural fatals, feminine plural fatales)

1. fatal (due to fate)

References

Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology

From Latin fatalis

Adjective

fatal (neuter singular fatalt, definite singular and plural fatale)

1. fatal

References

• “fatal” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology

From Latin fatalis

Adjective

fatal (neuter singular fatalt, definite singular and plural fatale)

1. fatal

References

• “fatal” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

Portuguese

Etymology

From Latin f?t?lis (“fatal”).

Pronunciation

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /f?.?ta?/
• Hyphenation: fa?tal

Adjective

fatal m or f (plural fatais, comparable)

1. fatal
2. terrible, very bad

Derived terms

• fatalismo
• fatalista
• fatalmente

Related terms

• fatalidade

Further reading

• “fatal” in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa.

Romanian

Etymology

From French fatal, from Latin fatalis.

Adjective

fatal m or n (feminine singular fatal?, masculine plural fatali, feminine and neuter plural fatale)

1. fatal

Declension

Spanish

Etymology

From Latin f?t?lis (“fatal”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /fa?tal/, [fa?t?al]
• Rhymes: -al

Adjective

fatal (plural fatales)

1. fatal
2. terrible, very bad

Derived terms

Related terms

• fatalidad

Adverb

fatal

1. very badly, terribly

Further reading

• “fatal” in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014.

English

Alternative forms

• dreadfull
• dredful (obsolete)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?d??d.f?l/

Etymology

From Middle English dredful, dredfull, dredeful (also dreful), equivalent to dread +? -ful.

Adjective

dreadful (comparative more dreadful, superlative most dreadful)

1. Full of something causing dread, whether
   1. Genuinely horrific, awful, or alarming; dangerous, risky.
      • 1900, L. Frank Baum, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, Chapter 23:

        "...Aunt Em will surely think something dreadful has happened to me, and that will make her put on mourning..."

   2. (hyperbolic) Unpleasant, awful, very bad (also used as an intensifier).
      • 1682, T. Creech's translation of Lucretius, De Natura Rerum, Book II, 52:

        Here some... Look dreadful gay in their own sparkling blood.
   3. (obsolete) Awesome, awe-inspiring, causing feelings of reverence.
2. (obsolete) Full of dread, whether
   1. Scared, afraid, frightened.
   2. Timid, easily frightened.
   3. Reverential, full of pious awe.

Adverb

dreadful (comparative more dreadful, superlative most dreadful)

1. (informal) Dreadfully.

Usage notes

The senses of "dreadful" synonymous with "afraid" similarly use the infinitive or the preposition "of": they were dreadful to build or the boy was dreadful of his majesty. These senses are, however, now obsolete.

When used as an intensifier, "dreadful" is actually a form of the adverb "dreadfully" and thus considered informal or vulgar.

Synonyms

• See Thesaurus:frightening
• See Thesaurus:bad

Derived terms

• dreadfully
• dreadfulness

Translations

Noun

dreadful (plural dreadfuls)

1. A shocker: a report of a crime written in a provokingly lurid style.
2. A journal or broadsheet printing such reports.
3. A shocking or sensational crime.

Derived terms

• penny dreadful

Further reading

• Oxford English Dictionary, 1884–1928, and First Supplement, 1933.