fatalism
fatalism Lexical Profile
fatalism Game Scores & Validity
• noun
The philosophical belief or doctrine that all events are predetermined and therefore inevitable.
"Ancient Greek tragedies often explore the tension between human agency and a strict sense of fatalism."
A submissive attitude of passive acceptance in the face of future events, seen as unavoidable.
"The voters' growing fatalism about the economy led to record-low turnout at the polls."
Word Nuance & Usage
In philosophy, 'fatalism' is often distinguished from 'determinism': while determinism holds that events are the inevitable result of prior causes and natural laws, fatalism suggests that specific outcomes are predetermined regardless of human choices or causal chains.
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
Coined in the late 17th century from French 'fatalisme', derived from Latin 'fatalis' ('ordained by fate'), from 'fatum' ('that which has been spoken, prophetic declaration, fate').