Choose the Right Synonym for felicitous

fit, suitable, meet, proper, appropriate, fitting, apt, happy, felicitous mean right with respect to some end, need, use, or circumstance. fit stresses adaptability and sometimes special readiness for use or action. fit for battle suitable implies an answering to requirements or demands. clothes suitable for camping meet suggests a just proportioning. meet payment proper suggests a suitability through essential nature or accordance with custom. proper acknowledgement appropriate implies eminent or distinctive fitness. an appropriate gift fitting implies harmony of mood or tone. a fitting end apt connotes a fitness marked by nicety and discrimination. apt quotations happy suggests what is effectively or successfully appropriate. a happy choice of words felicitous suggests an aptness that is opportune, telling, or graceful. a felicitous phrase

Did You Know?

The adjective felicitous has been a part of our language since the late 18th century, but felicity, the noun meaning "great happiness," and later, "aptness," was around even in Middle English (as felicite, a borrowing from Anglo-French). Both words ultimately derive from the Latin adjective felix, meaning "fruitful" or "happy." The connection between happy and felicitous continues today in that both words can mean "notably fitting, effective, or well adapted." Happy typically suggests what is effectively or successfully appropriate (as in "a happy choice of words"), and felicitous often implies an aptness that is opportune, telling, or graceful (as in "a felicitous phrase").

Examples of felicitous in a Sentence

a felicitous combination of flavors a felicitous accompaniment to dinner is provided by a harpist on weekends at the restaurant

Recent Examples on the Web Northwest takes the form of a felicitous friendship between itinerant baker Cookie and Chinese immigrant King-Lu. — Robert Abele, Los Angeles Times, "‘First Cow’ ‘gives the loneliest of us hope,’ say the film’s stars," 6 Jan. 2021 Searls has understandably chosen to keep Rilke’s side of the correspondence intact, sequestering Kappus’s less felicitous offerings in the second half of the book. — Lidija Haas, Harper's Magazine, "New Books," 27 Oct. 2020 That’s the same rationale behind a less felicitous change, the elimination of low-cost drink refills. — Mary Carole Mccauley, baltimoresun.com, "At Baltimore’s Senator Theatre, less people and more space define going to the movies during the coronavirus era," 10 Sep. 2020 And sometimes even the most felicitous convergences result in a cascade of unintended consequences. — Ann Hornaday, Washington Post, "Scorsese is right about Marvel. Except when he’s wrong.," 7 Nov. 2019 The result is an Industrial Park with a felicitous design, a series of buildings with an almost uniform low profile accompanied by attractive landscaping that harmonize with the low density features of the community at large. — Letter Writers, Twin Cities, "Letters: With St. Paul’s trash system, ‘Force Majeure’ might not be as forceful as you think," 13 Oct. 2019 With songs by Alan Menken and David Zippel, and a new book by playwright Kristoffer Diaz, this experiment in corporate-civic cooperation proves especially felicitous. — Peter Marks, Washington Post, "‘Hercules’ proves strong enough to lift all of Central Park, but only for a few days," 5 Sep. 2019 The swimming holes are what happen when the water pauses on its own and, entering into some felicitous arrangement with the rocks and soil, renders a space wide and deep enough to hold some stillness. — New York Times, "The Magic of Swimming Holes," 18 Aug. 2019 Ortiz played a felicitous part in the life of Dodgers manager Dave Roberts. — Andy Mccullough, latimes.com, "Angels’ Albert Pujols stunned by shooting of David Ortiz in home country," 10 June 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'felicitous.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.