Synonyms of fortuitous

fortuitous

adjective

fȯr-ˈtü-ə-təs 

1

as in lucky

coming or happening by good luck especially unexpectedly

your arrival just before the thunderstorm was fortuitous

Synonyms & Similar Words

• lucky
• fortunate
• happy
• coincidental
• convenient
• favorable
• providential
• unexpected
• fluky
• heaven-sent
• timely
• unforeseen
• opportune
• accidental
• promising
• serendipitous
• chance
• benign
• bright
• propitious
• beneficial
• good
• auspicious
• hopeful
• unlooked-for
• seasonable
• advantageous
• encouraging
• profitable
• golden
• fair
• heartening
• halcyon

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• unfortunate
• unlucky
• unhappy
• untimely
• hapless
• luckless
• inconvenient
• inopportune
• anticipated
• intentional
• foreseen
• unseasonable
• deliberate
• expected
• planned
• ill-fated
• ill-starred
• disastrous
• star-crossed
• inauspicious
• catastrophic
• unpromising
• calamitous

2

as in accidental

happening by chance

firmly believes that the creation of the universe was something other than just the fortuitous coming together of particles of matter

Synonyms & Similar Words

• accidental
• unexpected
• chance
• inadvertent
• incidental
• unintentional
• unplanned
• unintended
• odd
• casual
• unwitting
• coincidental
• unpremeditated
• fluky
• random
• arbitrary
• haphazard
• unforeseen
• unforeseeable
• uncertain
• aimless
• desultory
• freak
• unconscious
• involuntary
• forced
• unprompted
• coerced

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• intentional
• deliberate
• intended
• planned
• inevitable
• premeditated
• calculated
• certain
• predictable
• sure
• foreseeable
• foreseen
• destined
• fixed
• set
• expected
• predetermined
• premeditative
• prescribed
• conscious
• prepense
• predestined
• knowing
• voluntary
• preordained
• willful
• foreordained
• volunteer
• unforced
• freewill

Synonym Chooser

How does the adjective fortuitous differ from other similar words?

Some common synonyms of fortuitous are accidental, casual, and contingent. While all these words mean "not amenable to planning or prediction," fortuitous so strongly suggests chance that it often connotes entire absence of cause.

a series of fortuitous events

When is it sensible to use accidental instead of fortuitous?

The meanings of accidental and fortuitous largely overlap; however, accidental stresses chance.

any resemblance to actual persons is entirely accidental

When might casual be a better fit than fortuitous?

While in some cases nearly identical to fortuitous, casual stresses lack of real or apparent premeditation or intent.

a casual encounter with a stranger

When could contingent be used to replace fortuitous?

Although the words contingent and fortuitous have much in common, 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

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of fortuitous

The Met Gala is on Monday, which is obviously fortuitous timing for the film’s opening. —Matt Donnelly, Variety, 3 May 2026

With suspiciously fortuitous timing, Andy is snapped up as Runway’s new features editor—a move that Irv Ravitz (Tibor Feldman), the Si Newhouse-esque head of Elias-Clarke, hopes will salvage what remains of the publication’s credibility in the wake of Miranda’s bungle. —Justin Chang, New Yorker, 29 Apr. 2026

Paolo finished with 25 points, including a fortuitous 3-pointer that bounded off the back of the rim and fell through to give the Magic an insurmountable lead with 38 seconds left. —Mike Bianchi, The Orlando Sentinel, 25 Apr. 2026

Its proximity to the Downtown Manhattan Helipad—a 30 second ride in the Aston Martin—is fortuitous, since the typical Casa Cipriani guest is likely catching a 15-minute helicopter ride to JFK, or, if flying private, to Newark or Teterboro. —Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 24 Apr. 2026

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