Synonym Chooser

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

Some common synonyms of providential are fortunate, happy, and lucky. While all these words mean "meeting with unforeseen success," providential more definitely implies the help or intervention of a higher power.

a providential change in the weather

When is fortunate a more appropriate choice than providential?

While the synonyms fortunate and providential are close in meaning, fortunate suggests being rewarded beyond one's deserts.

fortunate in my investments

How is happy related to other words for providential?

Happy combines the implications of lucky and fortunate with stress on being blessed.

a series of happy accidents

In what contexts can lucky take the place of providential?

The meanings of lucky and providential largely overlap; however, lucky stresses the agency of chance in bringing about a favorable result.

won because of a lucky bounce

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of providential Helping to weave all those strands into a single, elegant narrative is an Emory University astrochemist with a providential name: Susanna Widicus Weaver. Andrew Grant, Discover Magazine, 31 Jan. 2011 Russia’s longstanding pursuit of a global position beyond its means—its aspiration to be a providential power, with a special mission in the world—has led it, again and again, to autocratic rule. WSJ, 4 Nov. 2022 Many a past biographer has observed that Lincoln understood himself as an actor in a providential drama. John Fabian Witt, Washington Post, 24 Oct. 2022 Meacham bids to be the redeemer in chief of the narrative of American exceptionalism: the venerable if now-shopworn story in which the United States has a providential and world-historic role as a nation distinctively dedicated to human liberty. John Fabian Witt, Washington Post, 24 Oct. 2022 See All Example Sentences for providential
Recent Examples of Synonyms for providential
Adjective
  • Throughout his life, Joe Don touched many lives with his warmth and compassion, leaving an indelible mark on everyone fortunate enough to know him.
    Tommy McArdle, People.com, 15 May 2025
  • Metallica is fortunate to claim several such successes, and the pioneering band has a handful of tracks in its discography that have stood the test of time.
    Hugh McIntyre, Forbes.com, 14 May 2025
Adjective
  • Read More About: Cannes France pierre branco Studio TF1 Subscribe to Deadline Get our Breaking News Alerts and Keep your inbox happy.
    Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 16 May 2025
  • Courtney Williams is still in her bag and still happy to be a dog.
    Steven Louis Goldstein, New York Times, 16 May 2025
Adjective
  • Before then, a lucky lottery ticket holder in Illinois took home a $344 million jackpot on March 25, while another lucky person hit the Mega Millions jackpot on Jan. 17 for $113 million.
    Fernando Cervantes Jr, USA Today, 25 May 2025
  • Another lucky break — made possible by a little bit of skill.
    David Hill, Rolling Stone, 24 May 2025
Adjective
  • For Carney, the timing is both fortuitous and fraught.
    Nik Popli, Time, 5 May 2025
  • Lucas’s timing was, strangely, both fortuitous and uneasy.
    Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 25 Apr. 2025
Adjective
  • These things could be coincidental, or could, as the main character suggests, be the work of fairies upset that their pools were desecrated in this way.
    Deborah Treisman, New Yorker, 18 May 2025
  • Then, this winter, the pair became coincidental training partners, occasionally working out at the same Southern California facility together as Kim (who, like Ohtani, is represented by Creative Artists Agency) prepared for his own move to the major leagues.
    Houston Mitchell, Los Angeles Times, 6 May 2025

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Providential.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/providential. Accessed 28 May. 2025.

More from Merriam-Webster on providential

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!