serendipitous

adjective

Definition of serendipitousnext
as in coincidental
happening because of good luck or chance After not seeing each other for ten years, we had a serendipitous reunion on the street one day.

Related Words

Relevance

Dissimilar Words

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 serendipitous Any expense that isn’t necessary is out—vacations, restaurants, any vehicle or clothing that isn’t strictly functional, all serendipitous purchases. — Joshua Rivera, Vanity Fair, 8 June 2026 Here then is a serendipitous tale worthy of a day at the races or a night at the opera. — Charlotte Observer, 4 June 2026 Through these juxtapositions and serendipitous encounters, they are given agency to make their own connections, setting up a challenging tension and offering a new paradigm for museums. — Time, 2 June 2026 Sometimes, those little flaws become serendipitous, as was the case for the two designers below. — Sarah Everett, The Spruce, 2 June 2026 See All Example Sentences for serendipitous
Recent Examples of Synonyms for serendipitous
  1. coincidental
  2. accidental
  3. unexpected
  4. convenient
  5. timely
  6. happy
  7. opportune
  8. unforeseen
Adjective
  • That Iran targeted Bahrain likely was not coincidental.
    — Jon Gambrell, Fortune, 27 June 2026
  • Born in Liverpool to a Norwegian father and a French mother in 2002, his middle name is Gerard, which feels too coincidental not to be linked with the Liverpool manager, Gerard Houllier, a Frenchman who was heavily involved with the France national team across his career.
    — James Horncastle, New York Times, 26 June 2026
Definition of coincidental
Adjective
  • Fire officials deemed the fire accidental after determining that the family dog, Bo, jumped onto the kitchen counter and turned on the toaster, which ignited nearby combustibles.
    — Adam Thompson, CBS News, 14 July 2026
  • Its lightweight, compliant structure makes accidental contact with people, pets and furniture far safer than conventional drones.
    — Jijo Malayil, Interesting Engineering, 13 July 2026
Definition of accidental
Adjective
  • Today, his history is central to his unexpected and expensive campaign for governor that has jolted the state’s Republican politics.
    — Riley Bunch, AJC.com, 10 July 2026
  • Her parents, Mariano and Beatriz, confirmed the heartbreaking news to TMZ and shared a poignant tribute on Instagram, describing her death as a total shock and unexpected.
    — Tim Lammers, Forbes.com, 9 July 2026
Definition of unexpected
Adjective
  • Like, for myself, helping to care for a family member who is right down the street, this is really quick and convenient.
    — Kansas City Star, Kansas City Star, 13 July 2026
  • With MyRecipes, your personal home for recipes, easily save and organize your favorites, plus thousands more, in one convenient place.
    — Josh Miller, Southern Living, 12 July 2026
Definition of convenient
Adjective
  • Classification tasks like this would not be possible to conduct in a timely manner by hand and are well-suited to the capabilities of LLMs.
    — Anil Oza, STAT, 15 July 2026
  • France couldn’t complete many of its signature long ball passes due to positioning of Spain’s midfielders and a number of timely deflections.
    — Jim Barnes, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 14 July 2026
Definition of timely
Adjective
  • Kings summer league coach Chris Darnell was happy to see Acuff have some success.
    — Jason Anderson, Sacbee.com, 15 July 2026
  • But Mendieta’s story did not have a happy ending, and this is never mentioned.
    — Eliza Goodpasture, ARTnews.com, 15 July 2026
Definition of happy
Adjective
  • So Silicon Valley is a place where Musk arrives quite young and at a quite opportune time in 1995, just as the dot-com boom is kicking off.
    — Charlie Warzel, The Atlantic, 3 July 2026
  • The Americans’ first goal was actually an opportune deflection — Weston McKennie ripped a pass that bounced off Paraguayan defender Damian Bobadilla and found the back of the net.
    — Steven Louis Goldstein, New York Times, 19 June 2026
Definition of opportune
Adjective
  • Now, experts are not only witnessing unforeseen rises in sales, but also dramatic changes in the attitudes of collectors and artists alike.
    — Will Barker, TheWeek, 13 July 2026
  • These unforeseen consequences end up transforming intellectual life.
    — Rose Horowitch, The Atlantic, 8 July 2026
Definition of unforeseen

Browse Nearby Words

serendipities
serendipitous
serendipity
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Serendipitous.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/serendipitous. Accessed 17 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation
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!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of obdurate

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

The Longest Long Words List

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

The Words of the Week - Jul 17
See More

Popular

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
child-detective
Spot the Misspelled Word July 2026 Those little red underlines can't help you now...
See All