fortunate
adjUK /ˈfɔː.t͡ʃə.nɪt/ · US /ˈfɔɹ.t͡ʃə.nɪt/
Etymology From Middle English fortunat(e) (“fortunate”), from Latin fortūnātus, from fortūna (“fortune, luck”) + -ātus (adjective-forming suffix), see -ate (adjective-forming suffix). See also Middle English fortunaten (“to assure the success (of), make fortunate”); cognate with French fortuné (“lucky”). By surface analysis, fortune + -ate.
1
Auspicious.
- It is a fortunate sign if the sun shines on a newly wedded couple.
- if it sits still, with its breast towards them, till they have passed, they consider it as a fortunate sign, and everything is expected to go on well during the remainder of their journey1854, Edward Stanley, A Familiar History of Birds : Their Nature, Habits and Instincts, page 144:
2
Happening by good luck or favorable chance.
- Patrick was the unlikely match-winner as Berkeley earned a fortunate victory over Chisolm.
- How many lucky winners, Regnault lamented, boastfully ascribe their success to wise decisions while in reality their triumph was nothing more than the fortunate outcome of random events?2011, George G. Szpiro, Pricing the Future: Finance, Physics, and the 300-year Journey to the Black-Scholes Equation:
1 more example
- Weiner acknowledges that a stroke of good luck has helped steer her to a more fortunate path early on in life.2018 July 11, “How Nina Weiner turns dreams into a reality”, in The Jerusalem Post:
3
Favored by fortune.
- We were fortunate not to be fined for speeding.
- This is a time when we think of those less fortunate than ourselves.
- Synonyms
- rosy, lucky, privileged, successful
- Antonyms
- unlucky, unfortunate
- Derived terms
- fortunately, fortunateness, misfortunate, superfortunate, unfortunately