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
• grim
• unencouraging
• comfortless
• gray
• grey
• 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

An auspicious introduction to a bold new filmmaker, Ink Wash represents a model winner of the New Directors Award. —Matthew Carey, Deadline, 30 Apr. 2025

Williams’s contract was announced on Valentine’s Day, auspicious timing that inspired his agenda-setting For Lovers debut collection in June 2023. —Chioma Nnadi, Vogue, 15 Apr. 2025

Saturn’s auspicious connection to Uranus revolutionizes your professional priorities without jeopardizing your reputation. —Usa Today, USA Today, 4 Apr. 2025

Hollow Knight Countless games have attempted to recapture the magic of Dark Souls since its auspicious release in 2012, but none have gone about it quite like Hollow Knight. —Luke Winkie, Vulture, 1 Apr. 2025

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