Definition of FELICITOUSLY

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 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 Confirmed by the Supreme Court in Plessy v. Ferguson — a seminal decision of 1896 that has long been considered one of the court’s least felicitous — the doctrine enfranchised the separation of the races in public facilities. — Margalit Fox, New York Times, "Dovey Johnson Roundtree, Barrier-Breaking Lawyer, Dies at 104," 21 May 2018 Many of these mezcal transplants work surprisingly well, given the volatile flavors of the spirit; the mezcal Negroni is an easy and felicitous switcheroo. — Robert Simonson, New York Times, "Whatever the Cocktail, They’re Ordering It With Mezcal," 5 July 2018 This is another hybrid Super Audio recording that highlights all of the music’s felicitous details. — Patrick Neas, kansascity, "These CDs will carry classical music lovers through the summer," 25 June 2018

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.

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Last Updated

4 Jan 2020

Cite this Entry

“Felicitous.” The Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster Inc., https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/felicitously. Accessed 24 January 2020.