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.
-
bringing or indicating good fortune: resulting favorably; auspicious.
She made a fortunate decision to go on to medical school.
-
well-to-do; comfortable; prosperous.
a summer camp for less fortunate fourth graders.
adjective
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having good luck; lucky
-
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.
They are lucky to be here after an incredibly fortunate postseason run against two teams they were playing for the third time.
From Los Angeles Times
Manchester United were slightly fortunate to beat Fulham last time out.
From BBC
Atkin has been fortunate in that she has avoided serious injuries, unlike her sister who broke her pelvis just before the 2022 Winter Olympics and has since retired from competitive skiing.
From BBC
He had a string of one-liners down pat, a deep mine of anecdotes ready to roll out at any given moment, and a sureness of just how fortunate he had been to stumble on snooker.
From BBC
I was fortunate that we caught it early enough for my care team to act.
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.
