fortunate
adjective
for·tu·nate ˈfȯrch-nət 
ˈfȯr-chə-
1
: bringing some good thing not foreseen as certain : auspicious
made a fortunate investment
2
: receiving some unexpected good
How fortunate we are to get such a nice room!
fortunateness noun
Synonyms
- fluky
- flukey
- fortuitous
- happy
- heaven-sent
- lucky
- providential
See all Synonyms & Antonyms 
Example Sentences
How fortunate we were to find that restaurant! We should try to help others who are less fortunate than ourselves.
Recent Examples on the Web Those fortunate enough to be selected received a special code. —
Shamira Ibrahim, The Atlantic, 17 Feb. 2023 Golshifteh Farahani, another juror, noted some women are not as fortunate. —Patrick Frater, Variety, 16 Feb. 2023 The Nepal immigrant, who has lived in the United States since 1999, is one of the fortunate loan recipients of the grant before the small business program stalls. —BostonGlobe.com, 13 Feb. 2023 His daughter grasps this as much as an 8-year-old can, that the funds she’s been fortunate to receive exist somewhere in the digital ether yet carry real value, paving the way toward a solid financial future. —Caitlin Gibson, Washington Post, 6 Feb. 2023 Politicians would face pressure to bail out the most unfortunate cohorts — but any such proposals might be resisted from the most fortunate retirees. —Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 6 Feb. 2023 Stuart and Budd were the fortunate sons of Hollywood royalty; their father was B. P. Schulberg, head of production at Paramount Pictures in the 1920s and 1930s. —Thomas Doherty, The Hollywood Reporter, 4 Feb. 2023 That's a fortunate career shift given the demand for mysteries right now, perhaps due to the genre's inherent cathartic endings, where everything is typically neatly wrapped up with a satisfying resolution. —Town & Country, 2 Feb. 2023 Li Jing, a farmer and former migrant worker from Yulin, a rural area of northwest China, said that even though his own family’s older relatives survived the outbreak, other families were not as fortunate. —Amy Chang Chien, New York Times, 31 Jan. 2023 See More
Shamira Ibrahim, The Atlantic, 17 Feb. 2023 Golshifteh Farahani, another juror, noted some women are not as fortunate. —Patrick Frater, Variety, 16 Feb. 2023 The Nepal immigrant, who has lived in the United States since 1999, is one of the fortunate loan recipients of the grant before the small business program stalls. —BostonGlobe.com, 13 Feb. 2023 His daughter grasps this as much as an 8-year-old can, that the funds she’s been fortunate to receive exist somewhere in the digital ether yet carry real value, paving the way toward a solid financial future. —Caitlin Gibson, Washington Post, 6 Feb. 2023 Politicians would face pressure to bail out the most unfortunate cohorts — but any such proposals might be resisted from the most fortunate retirees. —Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 6 Feb. 2023 Stuart and Budd were the fortunate sons of Hollywood royalty; their father was B. P. Schulberg, head of production at Paramount Pictures in the 1920s and 1930s. —Thomas Doherty, The Hollywood Reporter, 4 Feb. 2023 That's a fortunate career shift given the demand for mysteries right now, perhaps due to the genre's inherent cathartic endings, where everything is typically neatly wrapped up with a satisfying resolution. —Town & Country, 2 Feb. 2023 Li Jing, a farmer and former migrant worker from Yulin, a rural area of northwest China, said that even though his own family’s older relatives survived the outbreak, other families were not as fortunate. —Amy Chang Chien, New York Times, 31 Jan. 2023 See More Word History
First Known Use
14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Phrases Containing fortunate
Kids Definition
fortunate
adjective for·tu·nate ˈfȯrch-(ə-)nət
1
: coming or happening by good luck : bringing good that was not expected
2
: receiving some unexpected or unearned good : lucky
fortunateness noun
fortunate
adjective
1
as in lucky
coming or happening by good luck especially unexpectedly in a fortunate turn of events, the motel had one last vacancy Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
- lucky
- happy
- fortuitous
- convenient
- coincidental
- favorable
- providential
- unexpected
- chance
- flukey
- fluky
- promising
- hopeful
- heaven-sent
- opportune
- timely
- beneficial
- serendipitous
- bright
- unforeseen
- encouraging
- good
- seasonable
- accidental
- propitious
- advantageous
- benign
- auspicious
- heartening
- profitable
- fair
- unlooked-for
- golden
- halcyon
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- unfortunate
- unlucky
- unhappy
- luckless
- hapless
- expected
- anticipated
- untimely
- inconvenient
- foreseen
- inopportune
- intentional
- unseasonable
- deliberate
- planned
- ill-starred
- ill-fated
- star-crossed
- catastrophic
- inauspicious
- disastrous
- unpromising
- calamitous
2
as in happy
having good luck rabbits' feet are seen as making the carrier of them fortunate Synonyms & Similar Words
- lucky
- happy
- blessed
- privileged
- gifted
- favored
- promising
- blest
- golden
- fair
- hot
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- unfortunate
- unlucky
- unhappy
- luckless
- hapless
- snakebitten
- disadvantaged
- cursed
- snakebit
- ill-starred
- curst
- ill-fated
- star-crossed
Synonym Chooser
Some common synonyms of fortunate are happy, lucky, and providential. While all these words mean "meeting with unforeseen success," fortunate suggests being rewarded beyond one's deserts.
fortunate in my investments
Happy combines the implications of lucky and fortunate with stress on being blessed.
a series of happy accidents
While the synonyms lucky and fortunate are close in meaning, lucky stresses the agency of chance in bringing about a favorable result.
won because of a lucky bounce
In some situations, the words providential and fortunate are roughly equivalent. However, providential more definitely implies the help or intervention of a higher power.
a providential change in the weather