fatal
Translation
fatal, disastrous, fateful
Examples
Das war ein fataler Fehler.
That was a fatal mistake.
Der Unfall hatte fatale Folgen.
The accident had fatal consequences.
Grammar Patterns
fatal + Noun a fatal noun His decision was a fatal error.
Similar Words
Synonyms: verhängnisvoll (disastrous), katastrophal (catastrophic), tödlich (deadly); Antonyms: harmlos (harmless)
Etymology
From Latin 'fatalis' (decreed by fate), from 'fatum' (fate). It's a direct cognate of the English word 'fatal'.
Memory Tips
It sounds and means almost exactly the same as 'fatal' in English, making it easy to remember its serious connotation.