fate noun

1 sb/sth's future

ADJ. awful, dreadful, grim, terrible | cruel, unhappy | tragic | worse They decided to kill themselves rather than suffer a worse fate at the hands of their enemy. | common, normal, usual | likely Under-representation is the likely fate of small parties. | ultimate | unknown The ultimate fate of the captured troops is unknown. | the same, similar She broke her ankle before the big match, then suffered the same fate a month later.

VERB + FATE face He faces a grim fate if he is sent back to his own country. | meet, suffer, undergo | share He had no desire to share the fate of his executed comrades. | avoid, escape She managed to escape the fate of the other rebels. | deserve What had he done to deserve such a terrible fate? | accept, be resigned to The condemned men were resigned to their fate. | bemoan, bewail Instead of just bemoaning your fate, why not do something to change it? | ponder | seal He had signed his confession and sealed his own fate. | decide An extraordinary general meeting to decide the company's fate will be held on Thursday. | abandon sb/sth to, leave sb/sth to The generals abandoned the men to their fate. | rescue/save sb/sth from | discover, hear (of), know (of), learn (of) He will learn of his fate in court tomorrow. | await The convicts awaited their fate in prison.

FATE + VERB await sb/sth, be/lie in store for sb/sth They were warned of the dreadful fate that awaited them if ever they returned to their homes. | befall sb/sth Worst of all was the fate that befell the captured rebel general. | be/hang in the balance The fate of the African wild dog hangs in the balance (= is uncertain).

PHRASES hold/have sb/sth's fate in your hands The jury held the fate of the accused in their hands. | leave/place/put your fate in sb's hands, a fate worse than death (often humorous) Obeying her parents' wishes for her life seemed a fate worse than death.

2 power controlling everything

ADJ. cruel He believed that the universe was controlled by the whims of a cruel fate. | kind Fate was kind to me.

VERB + FATE believe in Such coincidences are almost enough to make one believe in fate. | tempt It would be tempting fate to say that we will definitely win the game. | leave sth to I have a great deal of trust and I leave everything to fate.

FATE + VERB decide sth, decree sth Fate decreed that she would never reach America. | intervene He secretly hoped that fate would intervene and save him having to meet her. | strike Only weeks after her previous injury, fate struck again, leaving her unable to compete. | deal a/its hand, deal sb a hand Anne accepted the cruel hand that fate had dealt her. | take a hand Fate took a hand in (= influenced) the outcome of the championship.

PHRASES an accident/quirk/turn/twist of fate It seemed a cruel twist of fate that the composer should have died so young. | the hand of fate The new job had come at just the right time for him. Was it the hand of fate?

You can also check other dicts: fate (English, 中文解释 ), wordnet sense, Collins Definition

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