Synonyms of propitious

propitious

adjective

prə-ˈpi-shəs 

1

as in promising

having qualities which inspire hope

the success of the first big movie in May was a propitious start for the summer season of blockbusters

Synonyms & Similar Words

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

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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

2

as in favorable

pointing toward a happy outcome

a propitious time for starting a business

Synonyms & Similar Words

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

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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

Synonym Chooser

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

The words auspicious and favorable are common synonyms of propitious. While all three words mean "pointing toward a happy outcome," propitious may also apply to beginnings but often implies a continuing favorable condition.

a propitious time for starting a business

In what contexts can auspicious take the place of propitious?

In some situations, the words auspicious and propitious are roughly equivalent. However, auspicious applies to something taken as a sign or omen promising success before or at the start of an event.

an auspicious beginning

Where would favorable be a reasonable alternative to propitious?

The synonyms favorable and propitious are sometimes interchangeable, but favorable implies that the persons involved are approving or helpful or that the circumstances are advantageous.

favorable weather conditions

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of propitious

The opening marked the debut of The New Yorker, which celebrates its 100th anniversary this week at a moment that is not propitious for either magazines or movies. —Peter Bart, Deadline, 20 Feb. 2025

The most propitious of these days occur in cycles of 12 years during a festival called the Maha Kumbh Mela, or pitcher festival. —Fox News, 13 Jan. 2025

Once again, these were two propitious investments ahead of a massive surge in shale oil and gas production across the U.S. that made the U.S. self-sufficient in oil and gas in 2020, the first time since 1947. —Ian Dexter Palmer, Forbes, 21 Nov. 2024

The essence of modern economic development is the continuing augmentation of human potential and a propitious business climate, framed by policies and institutions that help unlock the value in human beings. —Nicholas Eberstadt, Foreign Affairs, 10 Oct. 2024

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