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Synonyms

fortunately

American  
[fawr-chuh-nit-lee] / ˈfɔr tʃə nɪt li /

adverb

  1. it is fortunate that.

    The groceries cost more than I thought they would, but fortunately I had just enough money with me.


fortunately British  
/ ˈfɔːtʃənɪtlɪ /

adverb

  1. (sentence modifier) it is fortunate that; luckily

  2. in a fortunate manner

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of fortunately

First recorded in 1540–60; fortunate ( def. ) + -ly ( def. )

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.

See Examples For:

He said that weather conditions fortunately had prevented the storm from making landfall as a major Category 3.

From Barron's ● Oct. 10, 2026

The courts, fortunately, are seeing through this strategy.

From Slate ● Sep. 25, 2026

He added cases like Victoria's "are fortunately relatively rare".

From BBC ● Jul. 31, 2026

“I fortunately escaped without a wound, though the right wing where I stood was exposed to and received all the enemy’s fire,” he wrote after a 1754 skirmish with the French.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 22, 2026

And fortunately, I think I know where we can get some answers.

From "How to Disappear Completely" by Ali Standish

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