providential
Americanadjective
-
of, relating to, or resulting from divine providence.
providential care.
-
opportune, fortunate, or lucky.
a providential event.
- Synonyms:
- happy
adjective
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of providential
1640–50; < Latin prōvidenti ( a ) providence + -al 1
Explanation
If your best friend pulls up beside you in her convertible just as your bike gets a flat tire, you could call it providential, or magically lucky. The Latin root of providential is providentia, "foresight or precaution." Providence changed over the years; it usually referred specifically to the care of God, and it was spelled with a capital P. Providential, likewise, has another meaning that's purely religious, "resulting from God's intervention." Whether you're talking about God or not, if something is providential, it feels a little miraculous.
Vocabulary lists containing providential
30 GRE Words Beginning with "P"
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Twilight
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
GRE Verbal Reasoning, List 2
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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.
Providential for Leishman, given he booked a trip to the Aloha State before his triumph in Malaysia.
From Golf Digest • Oct. 14, 2018
It is time we got used to this term, which requires that we discredit our densely layered mythologies to the effect that class conflict occurs elsewhere but never in our Providential land.
From Salon • Jul. 8, 2015
Providential turns of event reliably rescue the main characters, as if this was a romp, though, not a comedy.
From The Guardian • Apr. 8, 2013
Catastrophe overtook these gentlemen through the Providential Premium Reassurance Society, known to its intimates as the P. P. R. S. Manager Elderson of the Society brought ruin upon it and then decamped.
From Time Magazine Archive
The breath and voice of this same moral mystery are felt and heard again within this same inaugural in that bold prophetic exposition of the Providential purport of the war.
From Abraham Lincoln's Cardinal Traits; A Study in Ethics, with an Epilogue Addressed to Theologians by Beardslee, Clark S.
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.
