fatal
Causing death, or leading to complete failure.
fatal in a sentence
- Forgetting to water the seedlings for a week proved fatal, and every one of them withered.
- In chess, one careless move can be fatal to your whole game.
Try an 11+ style question
Verbal reasoning papers often ask about a word like this.
Which word is closest in meaning to fatal?
- Aminor
- Bharmless
- Cdeadly
- Dsafe
Show the answer
C: deadly. The other three mean the opposite of fatal.
Which word is most nearly opposite in meaning to fatal?
- Adeadly
- Bharmless
- Clethal
- Druinous
Show the answer
B: harmless. The other three mean nearly the same as fatal.
Words that mean something similar
deadly, lethal, ruinous
Words that mean the opposite
harmless, safe, minor
More words about time & change
- fleeting: Lasting only a very short time.
- frequent: Happening often.
- imminent: About to happen very soon.
- inaugural: Marking the start of something important, or being the very first of its kind.
- inaugurate: To open or start something officially with a ceremony.
- incessant: Never stopping.
- inevitable: Certain to happen and impossible to avoid.
- keepsake: A small object you keep to remember a person or a special time.
More words to explore
Sitting the 11+ in Kent, Medway or Buckinghamshire?
Plain-English guides to each test, from the councils’ own pages: Kent Test · Medway Test · Bucks Secondary Transfer Test