felicitous
Americanadjective
-
well-suited for the occasion, as an action, manner, or expression; apt; appropriate.
The chairman's felicitous anecdote set everyone at ease.
-
having a special ability for suitable manner or expression, as a person.
adjective
-
well-chosen; apt
-
possessing an agreeable style
-
producing or marked by happiness
Commonly Confused
See fortuitous.
Other Word Forms
- felicitously adverb
- felicitousness noun
- nonfelicitous adjective
- nonfelicitously adverb
- nonfelicitousness noun
- unfelicitous adjective
- unfelicitously adverb
- unfelicitousness noun
Etymology
Origin of felicitous
First recorded in 1725–35; felicit(y) + -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.
What he called “the felicitous expression of ideas” mattered more to him than academic point-scoring.
From Los Angeles Times
Some of Sondheim’s best jokes are swallowed up in the imbalance between singers and orchestra, a situation exacerbated by a perhaps unanticipated and more felicitous problem: the audiences’ frequent boisterous response.
From Washington Post
County leaders should not wait for the “felicitous scenario” in which market forces lead to more housing at lower prices before they address the potential strain on infrastructure, schools and tree canopy.
From Washington Post
County leaders should develop plans to address these problems in the felicitous scenario that market forces respond in earnest to the new home-building opportunities.
From Washington Post
A win for this film would be nothing less than felicitous in a post-#MeToo Hollywood.
From Salon
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.
