fortuitous

adjective

for·tu·itous fȯr-ˈtü-ə-təs How to pronounce fortuitous (audio)

-ˈtyü-,

fər-

: occurring by chance

: fortunate, lucky

from a cost standpoint, the company's timing is fortuitous

Business Week

: coming or happening by a lucky chance

belted down the stairs, and there was a fortuitous train

Doris Lessing

fortuitously adverb

fortuitousness noun

Did you know?

For some 250 years, until the early part of the 20th century, "fortuitous" meant one thing only: "happening by chance." This was no accident; its Latin forebear, fortuitus, derives from the same ancient root as the Latin word for "chance," which is "fors." But the fact that "fortuitous" sounds like a blend of "fortunate" and "felicitous" (meaning "happily suited to an occasion") may have been what ultimately led to a second meaning: "fortunate." That use has been disparaged by critics, but it is now well established. Perhaps the seeds of the newer sense were planted by earlier writers applying overtones of good fortune to something that is a chance occurrence. In fact, today we quite often apply "fortuitous" to something that is a chance occurrence but has a favorable result.

Example Sentences

… the intensification of competition on the job market has only exacerbated our class anxiety, as hiring seems all the more uncertain if not fortuitous.

Jeffrey J. Williams, College English, November 2003 … he is a brilliant candidate not despite his anti-intellectualism but because of it. He has stumbled upon a fortuitous moment in which the political culture, tired of wonks and pointy-heads and ideologues, yearns instead for a candidate unburdened by, or even hostile to, ideas.

Jonathan Chait, New Republic, 20 Dec. 1999 Her $170, 000 bid on what is now Matanzas Creek's vineyard was accepted. The south-facing slope was a fortuitous find … its worth more than 10 times as much today.

Jeff Morgan, Wine Spectator, 15 May 1996 His presence there was entirely fortuitous. You could not have arrived at a more fortuitous time.

Recent Examples on the Web This was fortuitous, because Myst's developer, Cyan, was preparing an entirely new dimension of Myst.

PCMAG, 27 July 2022 The Blues tied the game at 2 with 52.8 seconds left in the second period after a fortuitous bounce off the glass.

Gene Myers, Detroit Free Press, 27 Apr. 2022 Janey's ascension to the role leading one of America's oldest cities seems the result of a series of fortuitous events.

Abby Phillip And Jeff Simon, CNN, 11 Apr. 2021 The meeting was fortuitous for a number of reasons.

Caitlyn Hitt, PEOPLE.com, 28 June 2022 The couple’s attention to the house proved fortuitous.

New York Times, 2 Dec. 2021 The All-Star Game’s birth was a fortuitous byproduct of the Great Depression.

Ron Grossman, Chicago Tribune, 19 June 2022 Forrest’s tendency to ignore guidance would later prove fortuitous.

David Jeans, Forbes, 21 June 2022 Mozart’s clarinet works — the Concerto and Quintet chief among them — all owe their genesis to Anton Stadler, a clarinet virtuoso whose friendship with Mozart proved especially fortuitous.

Lukas Schulze, San Diego Union-Tribune, 13 June 2022 See More

fortuitous

adjective

as in fortunate

coming or happening by good luck especially unexpectedly your arrival just before the thunderstorm was fortuitous

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

fortunate
happy
lucky
coincidental
providential
convenient
favorable
unexpected
flukey
fluky
serendipitous
heaven-sent
promising
unforeseen
accidental
opportune
timely
chance
propitious
beneficial
auspicious
seasonable
hopeful
benign
unlooked-for
bright
advantageous
good
encouraging
profitable
heartening
golden
fair
halcyon

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

unfortunate
unlucky
untimely
luckless
unhappy
hapless
inopportune
inconvenient
intentional
unseasonable
anticipated
foreseen
deliberate
expected
ill-fated
inauspicious
ill-starred
planned
disastrous
catastrophic
star-crossed
calamitous
unpromising

as in accidental

happening by chance firmly believes that the creation of the universe was something other than just the fortuitous coming together of particles of matter

Synonyms & Similar Words

accidental
unexpected
chance
inadvertent
unintentional
unplanned
incidental
unintended
unpremeditated
flukey
odd
coincidental
unwitting
fluky
casual
random
unforeseen
haphazard
arbitrary
unforeseeable
uncertain
aimless
freak
desultory
coerced
unconscious
forced
involuntary
unprompted

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

intentional
deliberate
inevitable
planned
intended
premeditated
certain
calculated
predictable
sure
foreseeable
foreseen
destined
fixed
set
expected
premeditative
predetermined
predestined
conscious
prescribed
prepense
knowing
wilful
preordained
voluntary
willful
foreordained
unforced
volunteer
freewill

Synonym Chooser

Some common synonyms of fortuitous are accidental, casual, and contingent. While all these words mean "not amenable to planning or prediction," fortuitous so strongly suggests chance that it often connotes entire absence of cause.

a series of fortuitous events

The meanings of accidental and fortuitous largely overlap; however, accidental stresses chance.

any resemblance to actual persons is entirely accidental

While in some cases nearly identical to fortuitous, casual stresses lack of real or apparent premeditation or intent.

a casual encounter with a stranger

Although the words contingent and fortuitous have much in common, contingent suggests possibility of happening but stresses uncertainty and dependence on other future events for existence or occurrence.

the contingent effects of the proposed law

单词	fortuitous
释义	fortuitous adjective for·tu·itous fȯr-ˈtü-ə-təs -ˈtyü-, fər- 1 : occurring by chance 2 a : fortunate, lucky from a cost standpoint, the company's timing is fortuitous Business Week b : coming or happening by a lucky chance belted down the stairs, and there was a fortuitous train Doris Lessing fortuitously adverb fortuitousness noun Did you know? For some 250 years, until the early part of the 20th century, "fortuitous" meant one thing only: "happening by chance." This was no accident; its Latin forebear, fortuitus, derives from the same ancient root as the Latin word for "chance," which is "fors." But the fact that "fortuitous" sounds like a blend of "fortunate" and "felicitous" (meaning "happily suited to an occasion") may have been what ultimately led to a second meaning: "fortunate." That use has been disparaged by critics, but it is now well established. Perhaps the seeds of the newer sense were planted by earlier writers applying overtones of good fortune to something that is a chance occurrence. In fact, today we quite often apply "fortuitous" to something that is a chance occurrence but has a favorable result. Synonyms fluky flukey fortunate happy heaven-sent lucky providential See all Synonyms & Antonyms Example Sentences … the intensification of competition on the job market has only exacerbated our class anxiety, as hiring seems all the more uncertain if not fortuitous. Jeffrey J. Williams, College English, November 2003 … he is a brilliant candidate not despite his anti-intellectualism but because of it. He has stumbled upon a fortuitous moment in which the political culture, tired of wonks and pointy-heads and ideologues, yearns instead for a candidate unburdened by, or even hostile to, ideas. Jonathan Chait, New Republic, 20 Dec. 1999 Her $170, 000 bid on what is now Matanzas Creek's vineyard was accepted. The south-facing slope was a fortuitous find … its worth more than 10 times as much today. Jeff Morgan, Wine Spectator, 15 May 1996 His presence there was entirely fortuitous. You could not have arrived at a more fortuitous time. Recent Examples on the Web This was fortuitous, because Myst's developer, Cyan, was preparing an entirely new dimension of Myst. PCMAG, 27 July 2022 The Blues tied the game at 2 with 52.8 seconds left in the second period after a fortuitous bounce off the glass. Gene Myers, Detroit Free Press, 27 Apr. 2022 Janey's ascension to the role leading one of America's oldest cities seems the result of a series of fortuitous events. Abby Phillip And Jeff Simon, CNN, 11 Apr. 2021 The meeting was fortuitous for a number of reasons. Caitlyn Hitt, PEOPLE.com, 28 June 2022 The couple’s attention to the house proved fortuitous. New York Times, 2 Dec. 2021 The All-Star Game’s birth was a fortuitous byproduct of the Great Depression. Ron Grossman, Chicago Tribune, 19 June 2022 Forrest’s tendency to ignore guidance would later prove fortuitous. David Jeans, Forbes, 21 June 2022 Mozart’s clarinet works — the Concerto and Quintet chief among them — all owe their genesis to Anton Stadler, a clarinet virtuoso whose friendship with Mozart proved especially fortuitous. Lukas Schulze, San Diego Union-Tribune, 13 June 2022 See More Word History Etymology Latin fortuitus; akin to Latin fort-, fors chance — more at fortune entry 1 First Known Use 1653, in the meaning defined at sense 1 fortuitous adjective 1 as in fortunate coming or happening by good luck especially unexpectedly your arrival just before the thunderstorm was fortuitous Synonyms & Similar Words Relevance fortunate happy lucky coincidental providential convenient favorable unexpected flukey fluky serendipitous heaven-sent promising unforeseen accidental opportune timely chance propitious beneficial auspicious seasonable hopeful benign unlooked-for bright advantageous good encouraging profitable heartening golden fair halcyon Antonyms & Near Antonyms unfortunate unlucky untimely luckless unhappy hapless inopportune inconvenient intentional unseasonable anticipated foreseen deliberate expected ill-fated inauspicious ill-starred planned disastrous catastrophic star-crossed calamitous unpromising See More 2 as in accidental happening by chance firmly believes that the creation of the universe was something other than just the fortuitous coming together of particles of matter Synonyms & Similar Words accidental unexpected chance inadvertent unintentional unplanned incidental unintended unpremeditated flukey odd coincidental unwitting fluky casual random unforeseen haphazard arbitrary unforeseeable uncertain aimless freak desultory coerced unconscious forced involuntary unprompted Antonyms & Near Antonyms intentional deliberate inevitable planned intended premeditated certain calculated predictable sure foreseeable foreseen destined fixed set expected premeditative predetermined predestined conscious prescribed prepense knowing wilful preordained voluntary willful foreordained unforced volunteer freewill See More Synonym Chooser Some common synonyms of fortuitous are accidental, casual, and contingent. While all these words mean "not amenable to planning or prediction," fortuitous so strongly suggests chance that it often connotes entire absence of cause. a series of fortuitous events The meanings of accidental and fortuitous largely overlap; however, accidental stresses chance. any resemblance to actual persons is entirely accidental While in some cases nearly identical to fortuitous, casual stresses lack of real or apparent premeditation or intent. a casual encounter with a stranger Although the words contingent and fortuitous have much in common, contingent suggests possibility of happening but stresses uncertainty and dependence on other future events for existence or occurrence. the contingent effects of the proposed law
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fortuitous

adjective

Did you know?

Synonyms

Example Sentences

Word History

adjective

Synonym Chooser