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    fate

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    fate
    fate /feɪt/ noun
     Date: 1300-1400
     Language: French
     Origin: Latin fatum 'what has been spoken (by the gods)', from fari 'to speak'
    1. [countable usually singular] the things that happen to someone or something, especially unpleasant things that end their existence or end a particular period:
        I wouldn’t wish such a fate on my worst enemy.
        fate of
        No one knows what the fate of the hostages will be.
    2. [uncountable] a power that is believed to control what happens in people’s lives:
        Fate plays cruel tricks sometimes.
        a twist/quirk of fate (=something unexpected that happens)
        By a strange twist of fate Smith’s first match is against the team that gave him the sack last season.
    3. a fate worse than death something terrible that might happen to you – often used humorously:
        He had rescued an innocent girl from a fate worse than death.
    ⇨ tempt fate at tempt(3)
         
    COLLOCATIONS
    ■ verbs
       ▪ suffer a fate We must prevent other children from suffering the same fate.
       ▪ meet a fate The beautiful old building met a sad fate when it was sold off to property developers.
       ▪ decide/settle sb’s/sth’s fate The meeting will decide the fate of the factory. | The court’s decision settled Anderson’s fate.
       ▪ seal sb’s fate (=make it certain that something bad will happen to someone, especially that they will die) Engine failure sealed the pilot’s fate.
       ▪ leave/abandon somebody to their fate (=leave someone in a bad situation) The abandoned sailors were left to their fate on the island.
       ▪ discover/find out sb’s fate He only discovered his sister’s fate after the war.
       ▪ resign yourself to/accept your fate I had no choice but to resign myself to my fate.
       ▪ a fate awaits somebody formal (=a fate will happen to someone) A terrible fate awaited any soldier who was captured.
       ▪ a fate befalls somebody formal (=someone suffers a particular fate) I wondered what fate would befall me.
    ■ adjectives
       ▪ the same fate He did not intend to meet the same fate as his companion.
       ▪ a similar fate The project suffered a similar fate to many of its predecessors.
       ▪ sb’s ultimate fate (=what finally happens to someone) The ultimate fate of the refugees is in our hands.
       ▪ a terrible/horrible/grim fate The crew of the ship met a terrible fate.
       ▪ a sad/tragic fate The play is about the tragic fate of two lovers.
       ▪ a cruel fate She suffered a cruel fate at the hands of her captors.
       ▪ an uncertain fate (=not clear, definite, or decided) The Bill faces an uncertain fate in the Senate.
    ■ phrases
       ▪ your fate is in sb’s hands (=someone will decide what happens to you) His fate is now in the hands of the judge.