auspicious
Americanadjective
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promising success; propitious; opportune; favorable.
an auspicious occasion.
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favored by fortune; prosperous; fortunate.
adjective
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favourable or propitious
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archaic prosperous or fortunate
Usage
The use of auspicious to mean `very special' (as in this auspicious occasion ) should be avoided
Other Word Forms
- auspiciously adverb
- auspiciousness noun
- unauspicious adjective
- unauspiciously adverb
Etymology
Origin of auspicious
First recorded in 1600–10; equivalent to Latin auspici(um) auspice + -ous
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.
It is an unusually nuanced take on a subject that too often generates reflexive fulminating or fawning, and a truly auspicious start to the New Museum’s new chapter.
“Christoffels, my dear associate,” Father murmured in his formal, old-fashioned way, “What joy to see you on this—er—auspicious day.”
From Literature
“Salesforce reports at an auspicious time for the software sector after it and other software stocks got slammed earlier this month by concerns about AI competition,” Mazzola said.
From Barron's
She planned to hang traditional Chinese couplets -- usually on auspicious red paper -- before sharing a family meal.
From Barron's
But the current Draco obsession stems from the transliteration of his surname, "Ma Er Fu", which contains the Chinese characters for "horse" and "good fortune" -- an auspicious omen for the year ahead.
From Barron'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.
