auspicious

[aw-spish-uhs]

adjective

1. promising success; propitious; opportune; favorable.

   an auspicious occasion.

2. favored by fortune; prosperous; fortunate.

auspicious

/ ɔːˈspɪʃəs /

adjective

1. favourable or propitious

2. archaic,  prosperous or fortunate

Usage

The use of auspicious to mean `very special' (as in this auspicious occasion ) should be avoided

Other Word Forms

• auspiciously adverb
• auspiciousness noun
• unauspicious adjective
• unauspiciously adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of auspicious¹

First recorded in 1600–10; equivalent to Latin auspici(um) auspice + -ous

Example Sentences

But experts say that, despite the auspicious start, it’s still too soon to say how the rest of California’s traditional rainy season will shape up.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Thanks to those risky moves, Comstock finds itself sitting on promising territory at an auspicious time.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Diana Ross made an auspicious feature acting debut in this sprawling biopic about the hardships and triumphs of celebrated jazz singer Billie Holiday.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

And this brief encounter may have been auspicious.

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It was not an auspicious start to his film career.

Read more on BBC

Related Words

• advantageous 
• felicitous 
• opportune 
• promising 
• propitious