Synonyms of auspicious

auspicious

adjective

ȯ-ˈspi-shəs 

1

as in promising

having qualities which inspire hope

told him she couldn't dance with him just then, but her auspicious smile encouraged him to ask again later

Synonyms & Similar Words

• promising
• bright
• optimistic
• propitious
• hopeful
• golden
• rosy
• encouraging
• likely
• upbeat
• heartening
• fair
• favorable
• positive
• good
• roseate
• reassuring
• rose-colored
• comforting
• decisive
• soothing
• doubtless
• confident
• sure
• assured
• cheering
• bullish
• unhesitating
• beamish
• eupeptic

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• inauspicious
• unlikely
• dark
• desperate
• gloomy
• dismal
• discouraging
• bleak
• dreary
• pessimistic
• unpromising
• depressing
• hopeless
• disheartening
• unpropitious
• uncertain
• doubtful
• cheerless
• negative
• dubious
• unfavorable
• downbeat
• comfortless
• grim
• unencouraging
• gray
• miserable
• bearish
• wretched
• glum
• funereal

2

as in favorable

pointing toward a happy outcome

began the season with an auspicious win against their strongest football rival

Synonyms & Similar Words

• promising
• favorable
• encouraging
• bright
• hopeful
• happy
• propitious
• golden
• lucky
• fortunate
• beneficial
• heartening
• fortuitous
• advantageous
• profitable
• prosperous
• providential
• salutary

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• inauspicious
• unfavorable
• unpropitious
• discouraging
• dim
• unpromising
• hopeless
• unfortunate
• disheartening
• unhappy
• unlucky
• disastrous
• fatal
• catastrophic
• calamitous
• ruinous
• futureless
• ominous
• dark
• sinister
• portentous
• gloomy
• ill
• dire
• threatening
• menacing
• direful
• baleful
• foreboding
• minatory
• ill-boding
• doomy

Synonym Chooser

How is the word auspicious different from other adjectives like it?

The words favorable and propitious are common synonyms of auspicious. While all three words mean "pointing toward a happy outcome," auspicious applies to something taken as a sign or omen promising success before or at the start of an event.

an auspicious beginning

In what contexts can favorable take the place of auspicious?

In some situations, the words favorable and auspicious are roughly equivalent. However, favorable implies that the persons involved are approving or helpful or that the circumstances are advantageous.

favorable weather conditions

When would propitious be a good substitute for auspicious?

The synonyms propitious and auspicious are sometimes interchangeable, but propitious may also apply to beginnings but often implies a continuing favorable condition.

a propitious time for starting a business

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of auspicious

The increase was widely attributed to the Year of the Dragon, which is traditionally considered an auspicious time to have children. —Anniek Bao,evelyn Cheng, CNBC, 19 Jan. 2026

And this auspicious performance will likely yield immediate interest there. —Brad Japhe, Forbes.com, 19 Jan. 2026

After the holiday stretch of office parties and family gatherings, Americans have come to use the start of every year to abstain from alcohol in the name of health and auspicious beginnings. —Will Gottsegen, The Atlantic, 17 Jan. 2026

While the last quarter of 2025 was one to forget for Bitcoin, its price is off to an auspicious beginning in 2026. —Carlos Garcia, Fortune, 14 Jan. 2026

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