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fortuitous

   Also found in: Legal 0.01 sec.
for·tu·i·tous  (fôr-t-ts, -ty-)
adj.
1. Happening by accident or chance. See Synonyms at accidental.
2. Usage Problem
a. Happening by a fortunate accident or chance.
b. Lucky or fortunate.

[Latin fortutus; see bher-1 in Indo-European roots.]

for·tui·tous·ly adv.
for·tui·tous·ness n.
Usage Note: In its best-established sense, fortuitous means "happening by accident or chance." Thus, a fortuitous meeting may have either fortunate or unfortunate consequences. For decades, however, the word has often been used in reference to happy accidents, as in The company's profits were enhanced as the result of a fortuitous drop in the cost of paper. This use may have arisen because fortuitous resembles both fortunate and felicitous. Whatever its origin, the use is well established in the writing of reputable authors. · The additional use of fortuitous to mean "lucky or fortunate" is more controversial, as in He came to the Giants in June as the result of a fortuitous trade that sent two players back to the Reds. This use dates back at least to the 1920s, when H.W. Fowler labeled it a malapropism, but it is still widely regarded as incorrect.

fortuitous [fɔːˈtjuːɪtəs]
adj
happening by chance, esp by a lucky chance; unplanned; accidental
[from Latin fortuitus happening by chance, from forte by chance, from fors chance, luck]
fortuitously  adv
fortuitousness  n
ThesaurusLegend:  Synonyms Related Words Antonyms
Adj.1.fortuitous - having no cause or apparent causefortuitous - having no cause or apparent cause; "a causeless miracle"; "fortuitous encounters--strange accidents of fortune"; "we cannot regard artistic invention as...uncaused and unrelated to the times"
unintended - not deliberate
2.fortuitous - occurring by happy chance; "profits were enhanced by a fortuitous drop in the cost of raw materials"
fortunate - having unexpected good fortune; "other, less fortunate, children died"; "a fortunate choice"

fortuitous
adjective
2. lucky, happy, fortunate, serendipitous, providential, fluky (informal) It was a fortuitous discovery.
Translations
fortuitous [fɔːˈtjuːɪtəs] ADJfortuito, casual
fortuitous [fɔːrˈtjuːɪtəs] adjfortuit(e)
fortuitous
adj, fortuitously
advzufällig
fortuitous [fɔːˈtjuːɪtəs] adjfortuito/a


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merely Nature's fortuitous manifestation of her purposeless
The bold attempt had miscarried by a fortuitous circumstance; and unless by some exceptional event, they could now never reach the moon's disc.
The coming of her sister's family was so very near at hand, that first in anticipation, and then in reality, it became henceforth her prime object of interest; and during the ten days of their stay at Hartfield it was not to be expectedshe did not herself expect that any thing beyond occasional, fortuitous assistance could be afforded by her to the lovers.
 
 
 
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