If you are interested in the meaning of the word fatalist, this article will give you the most comprehensive explanation. Now this word is rarely used in everyday life, however, in order not to be considered an ignoramus, you need to know what it does mean by itself.
This word has an interesting etymology. The Encyclopedic Dictionary said that the word "fatalism" came from the Latin "fatalis" (which has the translation "fatal") and "fatum" (translation - rock). If we turn to the English language, then there is a word with a similar root in it - “fate”, which translates as “fate”.
Different explanatory dictionaries give different definitions, in which there are only minor differences. In general, the bulk of the authors argue that the fatalist is an individual who believes in the predetermination of all events, or, more simply, in fate. The word "fatalist" is derived from the word "fatalism". As you know, their meanings are about the same. The only difference is that fatalism is a kind of philosophical worldview, and a fatalist is the person who adheres to it.
Let's find out at the same time how dictionaries interpret the term fatalism. A dictionary authored by T.F.Efremova, for example, tells us that fatalism is nothing more than faith in the inevitability of fate and fatum, based on the assumption that everything in the world is predetermined in advance, and a person is not able to change it .
The explanatory dictionary of V. Dahl gives a similar definition, only the author, among other things, adds that fatalism is very harmful to human morality. It's hard to argue with that. Often a fatalist is a person who lives one day. He can abuse bad habits, lead a dissolute lifestyle, commit rash and stupid acts. Of course, it’s not worth generalizing, but even in the world of fiction, many writers raise the problem of a fatalistic outlook on life. For example, the great Russian writer Mikhail Yurievich Lermontov. The fatalist is the name of one of the chapters of his famous novel “The Hero of Our Time”. It tells about the dispute between Pechorin (the main character) and the Serbian officer Vulic about the fate of fate. To prove that you won’t get away from fate, the young officer grabbed the first revolver he got, loaded it, put it to his temple ... but he misfired. Pechorin partially admitted that he was right, but the next morning it turned out that Vulich was dead: he was hacked by a drunk Cossack with a saber. But even after this, Pechorin refuses to believe in the power of fate, fatum, because the greatest happiness for him is to have freedom of choice, and also to go forward, not knowing what he expects next.
So, a fatalist is one who believes in fate. Adherence to fatalism has both positive and negative sides. The positive ones include the relative simplicity of the way of life: you can safely rely on the will of fate, not think about tomorrow, be sure that everything is already predetermined and nothing will change. The same imaginary simplicity of existence is negative: the fatalist goes with the flow, does not fight for his dreams, does not try to cope with his problems and shortcomings, in general, he does not live, but exists. However, the choice of worldview, of course, is a private matter for everyone, and we only hope that this article helped someone learn more.