fortuitous

[ fawr-too-i-tuhs, -tyoo- ]
See synonyms for: fortuitousfortuitouslyfortuitousness on Thesaurus.com

adjective
  1. happening or produced by chance; accidental: a fortuitous encounter.

  2. lucky; fortunate: a series of fortuitous events that advanced her career.

Origin of fortuitous

1
First recorded in 1645–55; from Latin fortuitus, fortuītus, equivalent to fortu- (u-stem base, otherwise unattested, akin to fors, genitive fortis “chance, luck”) + -itus, -ītus adjective suffix (for formation cf. gratuitous); see -ous

synonym study For fortuitous

1. See accidental.

confusables note For fortuitous

Fortuitous has developed in sense from “happening by chance” to “happening by lucky chance” to simply “lucky, fortunate.” This development was probably influenced by the similarity of fortuitous to fortunate and perhaps to felicitous : A fortuitous late-night snowfall made for a day of great skiing.
Many object to the use of fortuitous to mean simply “fortunate” and insist that it should be limited to its original sense of “accidental.” In modern standard use, however, fortuitous almost always carries the senses both of accident or chance and luck or fortune. It is infrequently used in its sense of “accidental” without the suggestion of good luck, and even less frequently in the sense “lucky” without at least a suggestion of accident or chance: A fortuitous encounter with a former schoolmate led to a new and successful career for the artist.

Other words for fortuitous

Other words from fortuitous

  • for·tu·i·tous·ly, adverb
  • for·tu·i·tous·ness, noun
  • non·for·tu·i·tous, adjective
  • non·for·tu·i·tous·ly, adverb
  • non·for·tu·i·tous·ness, noun
  • un·for·tu·i·tous, adjective
  • un·for·tu·i·tous·ly, adverb
  • un·for·tu·i·tous·ness, noun

Words that may be confused with fortuitous

Words Nearby fortuitous

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use fortuitous in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for fortuitous

fortuitous

/ (fɔːˈtjuːɪtəs) /


adjective
  1. happening by chance, esp by a lucky chance; unplanned; accidental

Origin of fortuitous

1
C17: from Latin fortuitus happening by chance, from forte by chance, from fors chance, luck

Derived forms of fortuitous

  • fortuitously, adverb
  • fortuitousness, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012