fortune

for·tune

 (fôr′chən)

n.

1.

a. The chance happening of fortunate or adverse events; luck: He decided to travel, and his fortune turned for the worse.

b. fortunes The turns of luck in the course of one's life.

c. Success, especially when at least partially resulting from luck: No matter what they tried, it ended in fortune.

2.

a. A person's condition or standing in life determined by material possessions or financial wealth: She pursued her fortune in Rome.

b. Extensive amounts of material possessions or money; wealth.

c. A large sum of money: spent a fortune on the new car.

3. often Fortune A hypothetical, often personified force or power that favorably or unfavorably governs the events of one's life: We believe that Fortune is on our side.

4.

a. Fate; destiny: told my fortune with tarot cards.

b. A foretelling of one's destiny.

v. for·tuned, for·tun·ing, for·tunes

v.tr.

1. Archaic To endow with wealth.

2. Obsolete To ascribe or give good or bad fortune to.

v.intr. Archaic

To occur by chance; happen.

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[Middle English, from Old French, from Latin fortūna; see bher- in Indo-European roots.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

fortune

(ˈfɔːtʃən)

n

1. an amount of wealth or material prosperity, esp, when unqualified, a great amount

2. small fortune a large sum of money

3. (European Myth & Legend) a power or force, often personalized, regarded as being responsible for human affairs; chance

4. luck, esp when favourable

5. (often plural) a person's lot or destiny

vb

archaic

a. (tr) to endow with great wealth

b. (intr) to happen by chance

[C13: from Old French, from Latin fortūna, from fors chance]

ˈfortuneless adj

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

for•tune

(ˈfɔr tʃən)

n., v. -tuned, -tun•ing. n.

1. position in life as determined by wealth: to make one's fortune.

2. wealth; riches: lost a fortune.

3. an ample stock of material possessions: inherited a fortune.

4. chance; luck: had the bad fortune to go bankrupt.

5. fortunes, varied occurrences that happen or are to happen to a person in life.

6. fate; destiny: to tell someone's fortune.

7. (cap.) chance personified, commonly regarded as a mythical being distributing arbitrarily or capriciously the lots of life.

v.t.

8. Archaic. to endow with a fortune.

v.i.

9. Archaic. to chance; happen.

[1250–1300; Middle English < Old French < Latin fortūna chance, luck, fortune]

for′tune•less, adj.

Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.

fortune

- Latin fors, "chance," formed fortuna, "that which fate brings along," hence fortune, "luck" or "good luck."

See also related terms for luck.

Farlex Trivia Dictionary. © 2012 Farlex, Inc. All rights reserved.

Fortune/Misfortune

 

See Also: RICHES

1. Adversity was spreading over him like mold —Irvin S. Cobb
2. Bad moments, like good ones, tend to be grouped together —Edna O’Brien
3. Blessed as the meek who shall inherit the earth —Anon

   This illustrates how a quote can be transposed into a simile.

4. The day of fortune is like a harvest day, we must be busy when the corn is ripe —Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
5. Disasters … rolling in the brain like pebbles —Denise Levertov
6. Fortune is as … brittle as glass —Publilius Syrus
7. Fortune is like glass: she breaks when she is brightest —Latin proverb
8. Fortune is like the market, where if you will bide your time, the price will fall —German proverb

   A variation by Francis Bacon begins like the above and finishes as follows: “If you can stay a little, the price will fall.”

9. Fortunes made in no time are like shirts made in no time; it’s ten to one if they hang long together —Douglas Jerrold
10. Fortune sits on him like a ton of shit —Irving Feldman
11. Good fortune, like ripe fruit, ought to be enjoyed while it is present —Epictetus
12. Good fortune seemed to be following me like a huge affectionate dog —John Braine
13. It’s a nightmare like trying to conquer the Himalayas on roller skates or swim the English Channel lashed to a cannon —T. Coraghessan Boyle
14. Luck is like having a rice dumpling fly into your mouth —Japanese proverb
15. A luckless man … the kind of man who would have gotten two complimentary tickets for the Titanic —William Mcllvanney

    The actual text in Scotch author Mcllvanney’s Papers of Tony Veitch reads: “The kinnaa man woulda got two complimentary tickets for the Titanic.”

16. Luck shines in his face like good health —Anon
17. Misfortunes disappeared, as though swept away by a great flood of sunlight —Emile Zola
18. Misfortunes, like the owl, avoid the light —Charles Churchill
19. Misfortunes … passed over her like wild geese —Ellen Glasgow
20. Mishaps are like knives, that either serve us or cut us, as we grasp them by the blade or the handle —James Russell Lowell
21. The storms of adversity, like those of the ocean, rouse the faculties —Captain Frederick Marryatt
22. Sweet are the uses of adversity which, like the toad, ugly and venomous, wears yet a precious jewel in his head —William Shakespeare
23. Tried to conceal his misfortune as if it were a vice —Mihail Lermontov
24. To wait for luck is like waiting for death —Japanese proverb

Similes Dictionary, 1st Edition. © 1988 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.

fortune

Good fortune is good luck.

He has since had the good fortune to be promoted.

He could hardly believe his good fortune.

It's lucky that I'm going abroad.

It's a good job you were there.

Note that in American English, you use a good thing, rather than a good job.

It's a good thing you didn't call me that night.

Collins COBUILD English Usage © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 2004, 2011, 2012

fortune

Past participle: fortuned
Gerund: fortuning

Imperative

fortune

fortune

Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011

Thesaurus

Noun	1.	fortune - an unknown and unpredictable phenomenon that causes an event to result one way rather than another; "bad luck caused his downfall"; "we ran into each other by pure chance" chance, hazard, luck phenomenon - any state or process known through the senses rather than by intuition or reasoning mischance, mishap, bad luck - an unpredictable outcome that is unfortunate; "if I didn't have bad luck I wouldn't have any luck at all" even chance, tossup, toss-up - an unpredictable phenomenon; "it's a toss-up whether he will win or lose"
	2.	fortune - a large amount of wealth or prosperity hoarded wealth, treasure - accumulated wealth in the form of money or jewels etc.; "the pirates hid their treasure on a small island in the West Indies"
	3.	fortune - an unknown and unpredictable phenomenon that leads to a favorable outcome; "it was my good luck to be there"; "they say luck is a lady"; "it was as if fortune guided his hand" luck phenomenon - any state or process known through the senses rather than by intuition or reasoning fluke, good fortune, good luck - a stroke of luck
	4.	fortune - your overall circumstances or condition in life (including everything that happens to you); "whatever my fortune may be"; "deserved a better fate"; "has a happy lot"; "the luck of the Irish"; "a victim of circumstances"; "success that was her portion" circumstances, luck, destiny, fate, lot, portion condition - a mode of being or form of existence of a person or thing; "the human condition" good fortune, good luck, luckiness - an auspicious state resulting from favorable outcomes providence - a manifestation of God's foresightful care for his creatures bad luck, ill luck, tough luck, misfortune - an unfortunate state resulting from unfavorable outcomes failure - lack of success; "he felt that his entire life had been a failure"; "that year there was a crop failure"

Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.

fortune

noun

1. large sum of money, bomb (Brit. slang), packet (slang), bundle (slang), big money, big bucks (informal, chiefly U.S.), top dollar (informal), megabucks (U.S. & Canad. slang), an arm and a leg (informal), king's ransom, pretty penny (informal) Eating out all the time costs a fortune.

2. wealth, means, property, riches, resources, assets, pile (informal), possessions, treasure, prosperity, mint, gold mine, wad (U.S. & Canad. slang), affluence, opulence, tidy sum (informal) He made his fortune in car sales.
wealth poverty, hardship, privation, penury, destitution, indigence

3. luck, accident, fluke (informal), stroke of luck, serendipity, hap (archaic), twist of fate, run of luck Such good fortune must be shared with my friends.

4. chance, fate, destiny, providence, the stars, Lady Luck, kismet, fortuity He is certainly being smiled on by fortune.

plural noun destiny, life, lot, experiences, history, condition, success, means, circumstances, expectation, adventures She kept up with the fortunes of the family.

Quotations
"Fortune, that favours fools" [Ben Jonson The Alchemist]
"The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune" [William Shakespeare Hamlet]
"Base Fortune, now I see, that in thy wheel"
"There is a point, to which when men aspire,"
"They tumble headlong down" [Christopher Marlowe Edward II]

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

fortune

noun

1. The quality shared by random, unintended, or unpredictable events or this quality regarded as the cause of such events:

chance, fortuitousness, fortuity, hap, hazard, luck.

2. Success attained as a result of chance:

fortunateness, luck, luckiness.

Idiom: good fortune.

3. All things, such as money, property, or goods, having economic value:

asset (used in plural), capital, mean (used in plural), resource (used in plural), wealth, wherewithal.

4. A great amount of accumulated money and precious possessions:

affluence, pelf, riches, treasure, wealth.

5. A large sum of money:

mint.

Informal: bundle, pretty penny, tidy sum, wad.

Slang: pile.

6. That which is inevitably destined:

destiny, fate, kismet, lot, portion, predestination.

The American Heritage® Roget's Thesaurus. Copyright © 2013, 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Translations

ثَرْوَةثَرْوَهحَظ

jměnímajlantnáhodaosud

formueheld

VermögenGlückSchicksalFortune

τύχη

fortunasuertecaudalestrella

kohtaloomaisuusonnisattumatuuri

fortunehasardrichessechancedestinée

bogatstvo

szerencse

fortuna

auîur, auîæfigæfa, heppni

fortunafortunatamentefortunatofuturopatrimonio

大金富幸運機会運命

재산

fortuna

būrėjaburti kam ateitįfortūnaišburti kam ateitįkrūva pinigų

bagātībalaimeveiksme

fortuingelukkanslotnoodlot

formue

fortuna

fortuna

состояние

premoženjesrečausoda

förmögenhettur

ทรัพย์สมบัติมากมาย

servettalihşans

tài sản to lớn

大量钱财财富运气

fortune

[ˈfɔːtʃən]

A. N

1. (= luck) → fortuna f, suerte f
by good fortune → por fortuna
we had the good fortune to find him → tuvimos la suerte de encontrarlo
the fortunes of war → las vicisitudes or las peripecias de la guerra
he restored the company's fortunes → restableció la prosperidad de la empresa, devolvió el éxito a la compañía
to seek one's fortune elsewhere → buscar fortuna en otro lugar
to try one's fortune → probar fortuna

2. (= fate) → suerte f, destino m
to tell sb's fortune → decir a algn la buenaventura

3. (= property, wealth) → fortuna f
to come into a fortune → heredar una fortuna
to marry a fortune → casarse con un hombre/una mujer acaudalado/a

4. (= huge amount of money) → dineral m, platal m (LAm)
to cost a fortune → costar un ojo de la cara, valer un dineral
to make a fortune → enriquecerse, ganar un dineral
a small fortune → un montón de dinero, un dineral

B. CPD fortune cookie N (esp US) galleta china con un mensaje sobre la suerte
fortune hunter N → cazafortunas mf inv

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

fortune

[ˈfɔː^rtʃuːn] n

(= large amount of money) → fortune f
Kate earns a fortune! → Kate gagne une fortune!
to make a fortune → gagner beaucoup d'argent
a small fortune → une petite fortune
his personal fortune (= personal wealth) → sa fortune personnelle

(= luck) → chance f
to tell sb's fortune → dire la bonne aventure à quelqu'un
to have mixed fortunes (= varying levels of success) → connaître des hauts et des bas
The electoral fortunes of the party may decline → Le succès électoral du parti pourrait décliner.

to follow the fortunes of sb [film, programme, book] → suivre le parcours de qn
The film follows the fortunes of two women → Le film suit les parcours de deux femmes.fortune cookie n (US) → gâteau m de riz chinois (renfermant un horoscope ou une devise)fortune-teller [ˈfɔː^rtʃuːntɛlə^r] n (gen) → diseur/euse m/f de bonne aventure; (with cards) → cartomancien(ne) m/f, tireur/euse m/f de cartesfortune-telling [ˈfɔː^rtʃuːntɛlɪŋ] n (gen) → divination f; (with cards) → cartomancie f

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

fortune

n

(= fate) → Schicksal nt, → Geschick nt; (= chance) → Zufall m; she followed his fortunes with interest → sie verfolgte sein Geschick mit Interesse; the fortunes of war → das Auf und Ab des Krieges; he had the good fortune to have rich parents → er hatte das Glück, reiche Eltern zu haben; by good fortune → glücklicherweise, zum Glück; by sheer good fortune → rein zufällig; fortune has favoured (Brit) or favored (US) him → das Glück war ihm hold; fortune favours the brave or bold (Brit Prov) → das Glück ist nur dem Tüchtigen hold; ill fortune → Pech nt; to tell somebody’s fortune → jdm wahrsagen

(= money) → Reichtum m, → Vermögen nt; to come into/make a fortune → ein Vermögen erben/machen; to seek/make one’s fortune → sein Glück versuchen/machen; to marry a fortune → reich heiraten; it costs a fortune → es kostet ein Vermögen; she spends a (small) fortune on clothes → sie gibt ein (kleines) Vermögen für Kleidung aus

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fortune

:

fortune-hunter

n → Mitgiftjäger(in) m(f)

fortune-teller

n → Wahrsager(in) m(f)

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

fortune

[ˈfɔːtʃən] n

a. (chance) → fortuna
the fortunes of war → le vicende della guerra
by good fortune → per fortuna
to tell sb's fortune → predire l'avvenire a qn

b. (money) → fortuna
to come into a fortune → ereditare una fortuna
to make a fortune → farsi una fortuna or un patrimonio
a small fortune (fam) → un patrimonio

Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

fortune

(ˈfoːtʃən) noun

1. whatever happens by chance or (good or bad) luck. whatever fortune may bring. voorspoed حَظ случайност sorte osud, náhoda das Glück, das Schicksal held τύχηfortuna, suerte saatus اقبال onni hasardגורל सौभाग्य sreća szerencse nasib gæfa, heppni fortuna, sorte, caso 運 운 laimė, fortūna laime; veiksme nasib lotskjebne, hell, lykkelos بخت، مرغ، نيك بخت، قسمت، برخه، بانګ، پيسى، دولت، شته منې sorte întâmplare фортуна osud, náhoda usoda sudbina öde โชคชะตา şans, talih 運氣 доля قسمت vận may, rủi) 运气

2. a large amount of money. That ring must be worth a fortune! fortuin ثَرْوَه богатство fortuna jmění das Vermögen formue περιουσίαfortuna varandus مبلغ هنگفت omaisuus fortuneהון खजाना velik imetak (bogatstvo) vagyon uang banyak auður, auðæfi fortuna 多額の金 큰 돈 krūva pinigų bagātība wang banyak fortuinformuefortuna دیره زیاته پیسه fortuna avere состояние majetok premoženje bogatstvo förmögenhet ทรัพย์สมบัติมากมาย servet 大量錢財 багатство بڑی رقم tài sản; gia tài 大量钱财

ˈfortunate (-nət) adjective

having good fortune; lucky. It was fortunate that no-one was killed in the accident. gelukkig مَحْظوظ щастлив afortunado šťastný glücklich heldig τυχερόςafortunado õnnelik خوش شانس onnekas heureux בַּר-מַזָל सौभाग्यशाली sretan szerencsés mujur heppinn; heppilegur fortunato 幸運な 운이 좋은 laimingas laimīgs; veiksmīgs nasib baik gelukkigheldigszczęśliwy, mający szczęście ختور، نيكمرغه، نيك طالعمن afortunado norocos удачный šťastný srečen srećan lyckosam, turlig โชคดี şanslı, talihli 幸運的 щасливий خوش قسمت may mắn 幸运的

ˈfortunately adverb

gelukkig لِحُسْن الحَظ за щастие felizmente naštěstí glücklicherweise heldigvis ευτυχώςafortunadamente õnneks خوشبختانه onnekkaasti heureusementלמרבה המזל सौभाग्य से na srecu, srecom szerencsésen; szerencsére untunglah til allrar hamingju fortunatamente 幸運にも 운좋게 laimei, laimingai laimīgi; veiksmīgi dengan nasib baik gelukkigheldigvisszczęśliwie, na szczęście دنيكه مرغه felizmente din fericire к счастью šťastne na srečo srećom lyckosamt, turligt อย่างโชคดี iyi ki, Allahtan 幸運地 на щастя خوش قسمتی سے may mắn thay 幸运地

ˈfortune-teller noun

someone who tells fortunes. fortuinverteller عَرّاف، قارئ البَخْت гадател cartomante věštec der/die Wahrsager(in) spåkone; spåmand μάντης, μάντισσα adivino ennustaja طالع بین ennustaja diseur/-eure de bonne aventure מַגִיד עֲתִידוֹת भविष्यवक्ता gatalac(ica) jós(nő) peramal spámaður, spákona indovino 占い師 점쟁이 būrėja zīlnieks peramal waarzegger spåkone/-mann wróżka طالع كتونكي cartomante ghicitor, ghicitoare гадалка veštec, -kyňa vedeževalec proročica spåman, spåkvinna หมอดู falcı 算命先生 ворожка جیوتشی thầy bói 算命先生

tell (someone's) fortune

to foretell what will happen to someone in the future. The gypsy told my fortune. toekoms voorspel يَقْرأ البَخْت предсказвам бъдещето на някой ler o futuro věštit wahrsagen skæbne λέω τη μοίρα decir a alguien la buenaventura (kellelegi) tulevikku ennustama طالع کسی را دیدن ennustaa dire la bonne aventure לְהָגִיד עֲתִידוֹת भविष्यवाणी करना gatati proricati sudbinu jósol meramal spá um örlög predire la sorte 占う 운수를 점치다 (iš)burti kam ateitį zīlēt nākotni meramal de toekomst voorspellen spåwróżyć د یو سړی بخت لیدل ler a sina a ghici (viitorul) предсказывать (кому-л.) судьбу veštiť osud vedeževati proricati sudbinu spå ngn ทำนาย falına bakmak 為某人算命 ворожити کسی کی تقدیر کا حال بتانا đoán số của ai 给某人算命

Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.

fortune

→ ثَرْوَة majlant formue Vermögen τύχη fortuna omaisuus chance bogatstvo fortuna 大金 재산 fortuin formue fortuna fortuna состояние förmögenhet ทรัพย์สมบัติมากมาย servet tài sản to lớn 财富

Multilingual Translator © HarperCollins Publishers 2009