fortuitous

[ fawr-too-i-tuhs, -tyoo- ]

adjective

1. happening or produced by chance; accidental:

   a fortuitous encounter.

   Synonyms: incidental

2. lucky; fortunate:

   a series of fortuitous events that advanced her career.

fortuitous

/ fɔːˈtjuːɪtəs /

adjective

1. happening by chance, esp by a lucky chance; unplanned; accidental

Confusables Note

Fortuitous has developed in sense from “happening by chance” to “happening by lucky chance” to simply “lucky, fortunate.” This development was probably influenced by the similarity of fortuitous to fortunate and perhaps to felicitous : A fortuitous late-night snowfall made for a day of great skiing. Many object to the use of fortuitous to mean simply “fortunate” and insist that it should be limited to its original sense of “accidental.” In modern standard use, however, fortuitous almost always carries the senses both of accident or chance and luck or fortune. It is infrequently used in its sense of “accidental” without the suggestion of good luck, and even less frequently in the sense “lucky” without at least a suggestion of accident or chance: A fortuitous encounter with a former schoolmate led to a new and successful career for the artist.

Derived Forms

• forˈtuitousness, noun
• forˈtuitously, adverb

Other Words From

• for·tui·tous·ly adverb
• for·tui·tous·ness noun
• nonfor·tui·tous adjective
• nonfor·tui·tous·ly adverb
• nonfor·tui·tous·ness noun
• unfor·tui·tous adjective
• unfor·tui·tous·ly adverb
• unfor·tui·tous·ness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of fortuitous¹

First recorded in 1645–55; from Latin fortuitus, fortuītus, equivalent to fortu- (u-stem base, otherwise unattested, akin to fors, genitive fortis “chance, luck”) + -itus, -ītus adjective suffix (for formation gratuitous ); -ous

Word History and Origins

Origin of fortuitous¹

C17: from Latin fortuitus happening by chance, from forte by chance, from fors chance, luck

Synonym Study

See accidental.

Example Sentences

Mr. Frommer’s call to travel touched a chord — the first 5,000 copies of his 120-page book, which he published himself, sold out almost overnight — and it did so at a fortuitous moment.

From New York Times

It’s a sudden and astonishing ascent for an ugly-cute character that debuted nearly a decade ago, and fortuitous timing for Pop Mart as it makes a major push into the U.S.

From Los Angeles Times

It was a fortuitous spot - they estimated the ice had only melted a week before their discovery.

From BBC

“Saw” would eventually come his way in a fortuitous manner, like most breaks.

From Los Angeles Times

According to Astronomy Magazine, it may be a "more productive option" for northern hemispheric stargazers to plan on catching Tsuchinshan-ATLAS both this weekend and in mid-October, since the latter occasion could prove more fortuitous.

From Salon

Related Words

• fortunate
• odd
• random
• serendipitous
• unforeseen