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.
One by one, the children were collected and while her pupils had escaped the devastation of the slurry, some of their families had not been so fortunate.
From BBC
I have been fortunate to see transformative facilitating technology several times in my career.
From Barron's
The 36-year-old added that surgeons have told him he was fortunate not to have severed any nerves or tendons but that he should gradually recover following further treatment.
From BBC
HBO Max shared a statement on Instagram, lauding Dane’s talent and saying the network was “fortunate to have worked with him on three seasons of Euphoria.”
From Los Angeles Times
"I'm fortunate that, even though I've got this disease, I'm getting the very best of treatment, the very best of care," he said.
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.
