fortunately

American  

[fawr-chuh-nit-lee] / ˈfɔr tʃə nɪt li /

adverb

1. it is fortunate that.

   The groceries cost more than I thought they would, but fortunately I had just enough money with me.

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fortunately British  

/ ˈfɔːtʃənɪtlɪ /

adverb

1. (sentence modifier) it is fortunate that; luckily

2. in a fortunate manner

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Etymology

Origin of fortunately

First recorded in 1540–60; fortunate ( def. ) + -ly ( def. )

Example Sentences

But fortunately, you can get a sense of the pick distribution just by looking at the numbers on ESPN, CBS and Yahoo.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 16, 2026

Fascist regimes of the last century were much shorter-lived, fortunately.

From Barron's • Jan. 23, 2026

"We are aware that a number of private properties have been affected, but fortunately they were unoccupied at the time," said Cyngor Gwynedd.

From BBC • Dec. 20, 2025

But fortunately, I’ve been very interested in two new themes that are going to be sure to produce blockbusters, which is memory and regret.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 19, 2025

As soon as she mentioned money I pretended to be distracted and fortunately, in the doctor’s office, there were plenty of plastic medical models of internal organs to study.

From "Dead End in Norvelt" by Jack Gantos