fate

/feɪt/

//feɪt// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"fate" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“fate” has 5 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #3,880. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#3,880
frequency rank, English
2,507
“F” headwords
5
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The presumed cause, force, principle, or divine will that predetermines events.

Corpus desk

Index EN-fate · fate · English

fate · rank #3,880 · 5 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #3,880
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 5 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,507
  • PHOTO-FINISH extraordinary

Nearest frequency peer: extraordinary (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “fate”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “fate” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

fate vs Fe
25% similar
fate vs fit
50% similar
fate vs fee
50% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for fate
PropertyValue
Headwordfate
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/feɪt/
Letters4
Frequency rank#3,880
Misspellings tracked5
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “fate”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).fatelands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “extraordinary” (#3,879), “frequency” (#3,881), “engage” (#3,878). Among 2,507 “F” headwords, “fate” is #3,880. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 5 spelling variants around fate (IPA /feɪt/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #3,880 among 2,507 “F” headwords. Wiktionary lists 7 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 5 likely wrong-spelling variants for fate, with forms such as "afte", "faet", and "fatte". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "Fe", "fit", "fee", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English fate, from Latin fāta (“prediction”), plural of fātum, from fātus (“spoken”), from for (“to speak”). In this sense, displaced native Old English wyrd, whence Modern English weird. The correct English form is fate, spelled F-A-T-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    The presumed cause, force, principle, or divine will that predetermines events.
  2. 2
    The effect, consequence, outcome, or inevitable events predetermined by this cause.
  3. 3
    An event or a situation which is inevitable in the fullness of time.
  4. 4
    Destiny; often with a connotation of death, ruin, misfortune, etc.
  5. 5
    Alternative letter-case form of Fate (one of the goddesses said to control the destiny of human beings).
  6. 6
    The products of a chemical reaction in their final form in the biosphere.
  7. 7
    The mature endpoint of a region, group of cells or individual cell in an embryo, including all changes leading to that mature endpoint

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how fate appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. 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 this under handicap so hard.
  2. Accept your fate.

Etymology

From Middle English fate, from Latin fāta (“prediction”), plural of fātum, from fātus (“spoken”), from for (“to speak”). In this sense, displaced native Old English wyrd, whence Modern English weird.

Synonyms

chancedestindestinydoomfatalityfateforedoomforeordinationfortunekismetlotorlayportionpredestinationpredestinypreordinationqadarweirdwyrd

Antonyms

choicefree willluck

This word in other languages

destino(Español)destin(Français)Schicksal(Deutsch)destino(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • afte
  • faet
  • fatte
  • ffate
  • ftae

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of fate - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

afte2faet2fatte1ffate1ftae2
Edit distance from "fate"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "fate"?
"fate" is spelled F-A-T-E. The IPA pronunciation is /feɪt/.
What does "fate" mean?
As a noun, "fate" means: The presumed cause, force, principle, or divine will that predetermines events.
What words are commonly confused with "fate"?
"fate" is commonly confused with "Fe", "fit", "fee". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "fate"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "fate" is /feɪt/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "fate"?
From Middle English fate, from Latin fāta (“prediction”), plural of fātum, from fātus (“spoken”), from for (“to speak”). In this sense, displaced native Old English wyrd, whence Modern English weird. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "fate", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 4 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

ears#3,877gene#3,883jean#3,889coat#3,867

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (5 here; floor ≥5).

tube5 variantsEPIC5 variantsexit5 variantshook5 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list