Definition of FORTUITOUS

Choose the Right Synonym for fortuitous

accidental, fortuitous, casual, contingent mean not amenable to planning or prediction. accidental stresses chance. any resemblance to actual persons is entirely accidental fortuitous so strongly suggests chance that it often connotes entire absence of cause. a series of fortuitous events casual stresses lack of real or apparent premeditation or intent. a casual encounter with a stranger contingent suggests possibility of happening but stresses uncertainty and dependence on other future events for existence or occurrence. the contingent effects of the proposed law

Did You Know?

For some 250 years, until the early part of the 20th century, "fortuitous" meant one thing only: "happening by chance." This was no accident; its Latin forebear, fortuitus, derives from the same ancient root as the Latin word for "chance," which is "fors." But the fact that "fortuitous" sounds like a blend of "fortunate" and "felicitous" (meaning "happily suited to an occasion") may have been what ultimately led to a second meaning: "fortunate." That use has been disparaged by critics, but it is now well established. Perhaps the seeds of the newer sense were planted by earlier writers applying overtones of good fortune to something that is a chance occurrence. In fact, today we quite often apply "fortuitous" to something that is a chance occurrence but has a favorable result.

Examples of fortuitous in a Sentence

… the intensification of competition on the job market has only exacerbated our class anxiety, as hiring seems all the more uncertain if not fortuitous. — Jeffrey J. Williams, College English, November 2003 … he is a brilliant candidate not despite his anti-intellectualism but because of it. He has stumbled upon a fortuitous moment in which the political culture, tired of wonks and pointy-heads and ideologues, yearns instead for a candidate unburdened by, or even hostile to, ideas. — Jonathan Chait, New Republic, 20 Dec. 1999 Her $170, 000 bid on what is now Matanzas Creek's vineyard was accepted. The south-facing slope was a fortuitous find … its worth more than 10 times as much today. — Jeff Morgan, Wine Spectator, 15 May 1996 His presence there was entirely fortuitous. You could not have arrived at a more fortuitous time.

Recent Examples on the Web

Detroit’s timing was also fortuitous, with steep stock declines Tuesday buoying demand for bonds. — Gunjan Banerji, WSJ, "Detroit Sees Big Demand in Muni Market Return," 4 Dec. 2018 To think his unlikely tale took a fortuitous turn in 1975 when Nelson saw an announcement in The Sporting News for a tryout with the Mavericks, owned by former actor Bing Russell — Kurt’s father. — David Haugh, chicagotribune.com, "Nellie Fox's card inspiration for Big League Chew: 'My dad used to say it was lightning in a pouch'," 24 May 2018 In another fortuitous turn of affordable fashion brilliance, Prada is launching light, perfect-for-summer tote bags. — Dawn Spinner Davis, Harper's BAZAAR, "B.Y.O. Bags By Prada," 3 June 2010 Just four years earlier, in a waiting room at the White House, Carnegie had a fortuitous encounter with a board member of the D.C. Library. — Andrew Zaleski, Curbed, "Can Apple stores be public spaces?," 3 Oct. 2018 The Cheech’ in Riverside is a most fortuitous and logical conclusion to his search for a significant permanent home for his unprecedented collection. — George Varga, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Cheech Marin of Cheech & Chong talks about pot, comedy, music, golf and his Chicano art museum," 11 July 2018 Photo: Long Wei/Xinhua/Zuma Press Next year would be a fortuitous time to ease birth restrictions, since an uptick is expected anyway. — WSJ, "Stamp of Approval for Larger Families in China? Postage Prognosticators See a Sign," 7 Aug. 2018 The merits of this move are debatable, but the timing is fortuitous—finishing up just as the U.S. is seeing a surge in freight and shipping costs. — Aaron Back, WSJ, "Low Sugar Innovations Sweeten Coke’s Growth," 25 July 2018 This could solve itself thanks to fortuitous timing. — Carolyn Hax, The Seattle Times, "How can parents protect child, conceived with donor egg, from toxic relatives?," 30 July 2018

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