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
Etymology
Origin of auspicious
First recorded in 1600–10; equivalent to Latin auspici(um) auspice + -ous
Explanation
Use the adjective auspicious for a favorable situation or set of conditions. If you start a marathon by falling flat on your face, that's not an auspicious start. If something seems likely to bring success — either because it creates favorable conditions or you just consider it a lucky sign — label it auspicious. The word is related to auspice, "a divine omen," an old word with a colorful history. In Latin, an auspex was a person who observed the flight of birds to predict things about the future. Luckily, you no longer have to be a bird-watching fortune-teller to guess whether something is auspicious or not.
Vocabulary lists containing auspicious
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To Kill a Mockingbird
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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.
Auspicious hope! in thy sweet garden grow Wreaths for each toil, a charm for every woe.
From Handy Dictionary of Poetical Quotations by Various
Its reign will spread thy glorious conquests far, And still the tumults of thy ruffled breast: Auspicious era! golden days, begin!
From Young's Night Thoughts With Life, Critical Dissertation and Explanatory Notes by Young, Edward
Auspicious, agreeable, excellent, and well-pronounced are the words, O Yudhishthira, which they utter with a voice as deep as that of the clouds.
From The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa, Volume 4 Books 13, 14, 15, 16, 17 and 18 by Ganguli, Kisari Mohan
With your Parallelogram thus built, observe it as an Whole; and remark if it hath an Agreeable or Unpleasing Aspect—one Auspicious or Unkind, according as it contains rather the red or the black Suits.
From The Square of Sevens An Authoritative Method of Cartomancy with a Prefatory Note by Prime-Stevenson, Edward
When the bridal couple were covered with the scarlet screen for the rite of the Auspicious Vision, Kanti looked up at his bride.
From Mashi and Other Stories by Tagore, Rabindranath
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.
