fortunate
Americanadjective
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having good fortune; receiving good from uncertain or unexpected sources; lucky.
a fortunate young actor who got the lead in the play.
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bringing or indicating good fortune: resulting favorably; auspicious.
She made a fortunate decision to go on to medical school.
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well-to-do; comfortable; prosperous.
a summer camp for less fortunate fourth graders.
adjective
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having good luck; lucky
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occurring by or bringing good fortune or luck; auspicious
Usage
What are other ways to say fortunate?
Someone who is fortunate has good fortune or enjoys good luck and success. How is fortunate different from happy and lucky? Find out on Thesaurus.com.
Commonly Confused
See fortuitous.
Other Word Forms
- fortunately adverb
- fortunateness noun
- quasi-fortunate adjective
- quasi-fortunately adverb
- superfortunate adjective
- superfortunately adverb
Etymology
Origin of fortunate
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English fortunat, from Latin fortūnātus “made prosperous or happy” (past participle of fortūnāre ); fortune, -ate 1
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Shortly after the crisis, Khamenei was fortunate to survive an assassination attempt.
From BBC
“I’m getting a better education than I deserve, and I’m fortunate that the good people of this community allow me to attend this school,” Andie says sarcastically.
From Salon
Villa are fortunate others have stumbled sooner and for longer this season - ensuring they have maintained a decent grip on third place until now.
From BBC
Still, I was fortunate to get the chance at Bournemouth, and also lucky in that I received some good advice on how I might stick around.
From BBC
Whenever I am tempted to consider the “unfairness” of my condition, I remind myself of the ways in which I have been “unfairly” fortunate all my life.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
