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.
So I felt particularly fortunate to find the following five.
Meanwhile, Best was fortunate to get his spot in history having picked up the ride on the morning of the race after amateur jockey Ella Herbison missed her flight.
From BBC
He was fortunate to still be there after Harry Brook dropped a sitter in the slips, the latest in a long line of fielding blunders by England this series, before starting to play his shots.
From Barron's
The office that housed the Council of the Southern Mountains was less fortunate.
The fortunate few who did so got to trumpet new deals.
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.
