fatalism
noun
fa·tal·ism ˈfā-tə-ˌli-zəm 
: a doctrine that events are fixed in advance so that human beings are powerless to change them
also : a belief in or attitude determined by this doctrine
fatalism that regards social problems as simply inevitable
fatalist
ˈfā-tə-list
noun fatalistic
ˌfā-tə-ˈli-stik
adjective fatalistically
ˌfā-tə-ˈli-sti-k(ə-)lē
adverb 
Example Sentences
Many people seem to have developed a sense of fatalism about the war.
Recent Examples on the Web But with dreamlike fatalism, the story returns to nocturnal urban streets. 
Kristin M. Jones, WSJ, 30 Aug. 2022 Mexican culture is known the world round for fetishizing death—I’m not the first tourist to come home with a refrigerator magnet showing a human skull adorned with brightly colored flowers—but don’t confuse fascination with fatalism. Timothy Noah, The New Republic, 22 Apr. 2022 The pandemic has gone on for two long years, turning tragedy into routine and breeding fatalism from failure. Ed Yong, The Atlantic, 17 Mar. 2022 The Afghan women saw the war with the fatalism of hard experience. George Packer, The Atlantic, 31 Jan. 2022 Lavallee says the post quickly racked up about 1,000 comments, with sentiments ranging from anger to aggression to fatalism to curiosity. Joan Meiners, The Arizona Republic, 29 June 2022 Cuddly fatalism is certainly understandable in our present moment of seemingly inexorable rights-rollbacks and war, to which the seductive response is resignation rather than resistance. Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, 5 May 2022 Zingy, 10-year-old Sarah Silverman (Zoe Glick) isn’t a natural fit for the town of Bedford, N.H., where sour, flinty fatalism is the norm. New York Times, 7 June 2022 No wonder, then, that the days following Biden’s moving remarks about Uvalde have been accompanied by a sense of weary, knowing fatalism. Susan B. Glasser, The New Yorker, 26 May 2022 See More
Kristin M. Jones, WSJ, 30 Aug. 2022 Mexican culture is known the world round for fetishizing death—I’m not the first tourist to come home with a refrigerator magnet showing a human skull adorned with brightly colored flowers—but don’t confuse fascination with fatalism. Timothy Noah, The New Republic, 22 Apr. 2022 The pandemic has gone on for two long years, turning tragedy into routine and breeding fatalism from failure. Ed Yong, The Atlantic, 17 Mar. 2022 The Afghan women saw the war with the fatalism of hard experience. George Packer, The Atlantic, 31 Jan. 2022 Lavallee says the post quickly racked up about 1,000 comments, with sentiments ranging from anger to aggression to fatalism to curiosity. Joan Meiners, The Arizona Republic, 29 June 2022 Cuddly fatalism is certainly understandable in our present moment of seemingly inexorable rights-rollbacks and war, to which the seductive response is resignation rather than resistance. Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, 5 May 2022 Zingy, 10-year-old Sarah Silverman (Zoe Glick) isn’t a natural fit for the town of Bedford, N.H., where sour, flinty fatalism is the norm. New York Times, 7 June 2022 No wonder, then, that the days following Biden’s moving remarks about Uvalde have been accompanied by a sense of weary, knowing fatalism. Susan B. Glasser, The New Yorker, 26 May 2022 See More Word History
First Known Use
1678, in the meaning defined above