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
Etymology
Origin of fortunate
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English fortunat, from Latin fortūnātus “made prosperous or happy” (past participle of fortūnāre ); see fortune, -ate 1
Explanation
If you are lucky, you are fortunate. You can be fortunate to have avoided something terrible and you can be fortunate to have acquired, won, or been bestowed with something better than those around you, like wealth and good looks. The adjective fortunate comes from the Latin word fortunatus, meaning “prospered,” “prosperous,” “lucky,” or “happy.” Fortunate is related to the word fortune and they have similar meanings, in the sense that those fortunate enough to have a fortune most likely have gobs of money and are sometimes called “the fortunate.” When it comes to predicting the future, you could get bad news from a fortune teller about what’s in store for you, but if you’re fortunate — she’ll say something good.
Vocabulary lists containing fortunate
List 6
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100 SAT Words Beginning with "F"
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Tears of a Tiger
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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.
I had prepped appetizers, sides and heavily salted my steaks, in advance, which was fortunate.
From Salon ● Sep. 8, 2026
The more interesting — and, frankly, fortunate and unusual — question is whether you can spend your retirement years without ever needing to dip deeply into that honeypot at all.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 8, 2026
“What I think has been really cool is that if you are fortunate to see guys go on and do well, it attracts really high-level coaches as well,” McVay said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 8, 2026
Chalk the good times up to a confluence of fortunate events: red-hot AI spending, federal spending and the windfall companies are getting in the form of refunds of some of their past tariff payments.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 31, 2026
Only an exceedingly fortunate, patient, and sweet-tempered person can go through life without ever feeling in high dudgeon, and that was just as true in Miss Penelope Lumley’s day as it is in our own.
From "The Hidden Gallery" by Maryrose Wood
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.
