fates

Noun

fate (countable and uncountable, plural fates)

1. The presumed cause, force, principle, or divine will that predetermines events.
   • Captain Edward Carlisle[…]felt a curious sensation of helplessness seize upon him as he met her steady gaze,[…]; he could not tell what this prisoner might do. He cursed the fate which had assigned such a duty, cursed especially that fate which forced a gallant soldier to meet so superb a woman as...1910, Emerson Hough, chapter I, in The Purchase Price: Or The Cause of Compromise, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC

   Synonyms:

   destiny, natural order

   Antonyms:

   free will

2. The effect, consequence, outcome, or inevitable events predetermined by this cause.
3. An event or a situation which is inevitable in the fullness of time.

   Synonyms:

   destiny

   Antonyms:

   accident, chance

4. Destiny; often with a connotation of death, ruin, misfortune, etc.
   • Accept your fate.

   Synonyms:

   doom, portion, wyrd

   Antonyms:

   fortune, luck

5. The products of a chemical reaction in their final form in the biosphere.
   • It’s important to research chemical fate because chemical fate is the best tool we have for understanding and managing human health risks or environmental damage caused by chemical release.2019 July 12, Danielle Freeman, “Archived copy”, in Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, archived from the original on 11 Oct 2022
6. The mature endpoint of a region, group of cells or individual cell in an embryo, including all changes leading to that mature endpoint

   Synonyms:

   developmental pathway

See all 9 meanings of fate