fortunate
Americanadjective
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having good fortune; receiving good from uncertain or unexpected sources; lucky.
a fortunate young actor who got the lead in the play.
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bringing or indicating good fortune: resulting favorably; auspicious.
She made a fortunate decision to go on to medical school.
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well-to-do; comfortable; prosperous.
a summer camp for less fortunate fourth graders.
adjective
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having good luck; lucky
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occurring by or bringing good fortune or luck; auspicious
Usage
What are other ways to say fortunate?
Someone who is fortunate has good fortune or enjoys good luck and success. How is fortunate different from happy and lucky? Find out on Thesaurus.com.
Commonly Confused
See fortuitous.
Other Word Forms
- fortunately adverb
- fortunateness noun
- quasi-fortunate adjective
- quasi-fortunately adverb
- superfortunate adjective
- superfortunately adverb
Etymology
Origin of fortunate
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English fortunat, from Latin fortūnātus “made prosperous or happy” (past participle of fortūnāre ); fortune, -ate 1
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Still, I was fortunate to get the chance at Bournemouth, and also lucky in that I received some good advice on how I might stick around.
From BBC
Whenever I am tempted to consider the “unfairness” of my condition, I remind myself of the ways in which I have been “unfairly” fortunate all my life.
It was fortunate for Duane that he was such a sound sleeper and far too big for an arctic fox to push out of bed because Magic would eventually give up and leave.
From Literature
It might be the work itself, the chance to solve problems, the clients or customers who you help, the coworkers or, for those who are fortunate enough to work remotely, the flexibility.
From MarketWatch
"I'm very fortunate to be able to do racing, because as everyone knows it's not the most accessible sport to everyone," he says.
From BBC
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
