fatalistic

Also fa·tal·ist

[feyt-l-is-tik]

adjective

1. demonstrating a belief that all events are inevitable, so one’s choices and actions make no difference.

   Fear, uncertainty, and a feeling of powerlessness contribute to a fatalistic attitude among many refugees when it comes to seeking justice.

2. Philosophy.,  advancing the idea that all events are naturally predetermined or subject to fate.

   A fatalistic view, which denies the possibility of free will, makes some sense scientifically.

Other Word Forms

• fatalistically adverb
• nonfatalistic adjective
• quasi‐fatalistic adjective
• quasi‐fatalistically adverb
• unfatalistic adjective
• unfatalistically adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of fatalistic¹

fatalist ( def. ) + -ic

Example Sentences

And while there is nothing fatalistic about such imperial fantasies that translate the past into the present, they often echo in the repertoire of the influential and powerful.

From Salon

Mays, in the time I’ve known him, has been realistic rather than fatalistic.

From Los Angeles Times

Eleven years on, she has gone back to hospital to give birth several times and takes a fatalistic attitude.

From BBC

One cannot demonstrate this like a mathematical proof, but this carelessness, or callousness, about human life seems linked to fatalistic, even nihilistic attitudes.

From Salon

So, when Nash touched down in the corner on Sunday, those with a half-decent memory and a fatalistic bent started to lose all hope for Townsend's team.

From BBC

Related Words

• bleak 
• depressed 
• despondent 
• discouraged 
• gloomy 
• glum 
• sad