fates

1. 1
   noun

   Plural of fate.

   A single decision sealed the fates of everyone aboard the ship.

   The novel weaves together the fates of three families across a century.

   Note

   A plural that gives each person or thing its own share of destiny: the fates of three families, the fates of a ship's crew. Capitalized, the Fates are the goddesses said to control human destiny, so the capital letter changes the meaning. Chemists use the plural too, for the final forms a reaction's products take in the biosphere. In technical writing, the fates of a compound means where it ends up.

2. 2
   verbrare

   Third-person singular simple present of fate. Rare; the verb is mostly used as fated, as in fated to fail.

   Note

   A rare form, because the verb seldom appears in the active present. It is transitive and usually pairs an object with a to-phrase: a broken promise fates an alliance to collapse. Most readers meet the verb in the passive instead, as in was fated to fail. The active present therefore sounds deliberate, so use it when you want that weight.

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