Meanings
comparative more fortunate · superlative most fortunate
- Auspicious.
It is a fortunate sign if the sun shines on a newly wedded couple.
1 more example
if it sits still, with its breast towards them, till they have passed, they consider it as a fortunate sign, and everything is expected to go on well during the remainder of their journey
1854, Edward Stanley, A Familiar History of Birds : Their Nature, Habits and Instincts, page 144Synonyms: rosy
- Happening by good luck or favorable chance.
Patrick was the unlikely match-winner as Berkeley earned a fortunate victory over Chisolm.
2 more examples
How many lucky winners, Regnault lamented, boastfully ascribe their success to wise decisions while in reality their triumph was nothing more than the fortunate outcome of random events?
2011, George G. Szpiro, Pricing the Future: Finance, Physics, and the 300-year Journey to the Black-Scholes EquationWeiner acknowledges that a stroke of good luck has helped steer her to a more fortunate path early on in life.
2018 July 11, “How Nina Weiner turns dreams into a reality”, in The Jerusalem PostSynonyms: lucky
- Favored by fortune.
We were fortunate not to be fined for speeding.
1 more example
This is a time when we think of those less fortunate than ourselves.
Synonyms: privileged
Synonyms & antonyms
adjectiveAuspicious.
adjectiveHappening by good luck or favorable chance.
adjectiveFavored by fortune.
More synonyms by meaning
adjectivehaving unexpected good fortune
adjectivepresaging good fortune
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Latinfortūnātus
- Middle Englishfortunat(e)“fortunate”
- Englishfortunate
From Middle English fortunat(e) (“fortunate”), from Latin fortūnātus, from fortūna (“fortune, luck”) + -ātus (adjective-forming suffix), see -ate (adjective-forming suffix). See also Middle English fortunaten (“to assure the success (of), make fortunate”); cognate with French fortuné (“lucky”). By surface analysis, fortune + -ate.
More words from Middle English, Latin
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Ancient Greek ἐυτυχής
- ἐυτυχής (eutukhḗs)lucky, favored by fortune
Bulgarian благоприя́тен, късметли́йски
- благоприя́тен (blagoprijáten)auspicious
- късметли́йски (kăsmetlíjski)coming by good luck or favorable chance
- щастли́в (štastlív)bringing some good thing not foreseen as certain
- уда́чен (udáčen)receiving some unforeseen or unexpected good, or some good, independent of one's own skill or efforts
- късметли́йски (kăsmetlíjski)lucky, favored by fortune
Catalan favorable, propici
- favorableauspicious
- propiciauspicious
- afortunatcoming by good luck or favorable chance
- propicibringing some good thing not foreseen as certain
- afortunatlucky, favored by fortune
Danish heldig
- heldiglucky, favored by fortune
Esperanto fortuna, fortunema
- fortunacoming by good luck or favorable chance
- fortunemalucky, favored by fortune
Finnish lupaava, suotuisa
- lupaavaauspicious
- suotuisaauspicious
- onnekascoming by good luck or favorable chance
- onnekasreceiving some unforeseen or unexpected good, or some good, independent of one's own skill or efforts
- onnekaslucky, favored by fortune
French fortuné
- fortunélucky, favored by fortune
German verheißungsvoll, glücklich
- verheißungsvollauspicious
- glücklichcoming by good luck or favorable chance
- günstigbringing some good thing not foreseen as certain
- verheißungsvollbringing some good thing not foreseen as certain
- glücklichlucky, favored by fortune
Greek τυχερός, τυχερός
- τυχερός (tycherós)bringing some good thing not foreseen as certain
- τυχερός (tycherós)receiving some unforeseen or unexpected good, or some good, independent of one's own skill or efforts
- τυχερός (tycherós)lucky, favored by fortune
- καλότυχος (kalótychos)lucky, favored by fortune
Irish sonasach, méanar
- sonasachcoming by good luck or favorable chance
- méanarcoming by good luck or favorable chance
Latin fortunātus
- fortunātuslucky, favored by fortune
Māori momoho, angitu
- momohocoming by good luck or favorable chance
- angitucoming by good luck or favorable chance
Persian خجسته
- خجسته (xojaste)coming by good luck or favorable chance
Polish fortunny
- fortunnycoming by good luck or favorable chance
Portuguese propício, propício
- propíciocoming by good luck or favorable chance
- propíciobringing some good thing not foreseen as certain
- afortunadolucky, favored by fortune
- sortudolucky, favored by fortune
- felizlucky, favored by fortune
Russian благоприя́тный, уда́чный
- благоприя́тный (blagoprijátnyj)auspicious
- уда́чный (udáčnyj)coming by good luck or favorable chance
- счастли́вый (sčastlívyj)bringing some good thing not foreseen as certain
- уда́чный (udáčnyj)bringing some good thing not foreseen as certain
- уда́чливый (udáčlivyj)receiving some unforeseen or unexpected good, or some good, independent of one's own skill or efforts
- счастли́вый (sčastlívyj)receiving some unforeseen or unexpected good, or some good, independent of one's own skill or efforts
- уда́чливый (udáčlivyj)lucky, favored by fortune
- счастли́вый (sčastlívyj)lucky, favored by fortune
Scottish Gaelic fortanach
- fortanachlucky, favored by fortune
Spanish afortunado, propicio
- afortunadocoming by good luck or favorable chance
- propiciobringing some good thing not foreseen as certain
- favorablebringing some good thing not foreseen as certain
- afortunadolucky, favored by fortune
- fortunado (disused)lucky, favored by fortune
Swedish lycklig
- lyckliglucky, favored by fortune
Turkish kutlu, uğurlu
- kutluauspicious
- uğurluauspicious
- uğurlucoming by good luck or favorable chance
- uğurlubringing some good thing not foreseen as certain
Urdu خوش قسمت
- خوش قسمت (xuš qismat)coming by good luck or favorable chance
Cite this entry
fortunate. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/fortunate
“fortunate.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/fortunate. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “fortunate,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/fortunate.
Source: fortunate on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.