felicitous
1
7.9
- adjective
- /fəˈlɪsɪtəs/
- Formal
:
oportuno
- Her felicitous choice of words made the difficult topic much easier to discuss.
- a felicitous phrase
You find a phrase that is a felicitous phrase.
- You find a phrase that is a felicitous phrase.
Examples
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In this regard, Edward Hoagland's description of Johnny Appleseed as fundamentally "unassimilable" (171) seems felicitous.
Academic text (2012) -
Of all his works, De Profundis speaks best to the complex, multifaceted spirituality that was part of Oscar Wilde, along the way offering, arguably, a felicitous expression of the spiritual diversity of his time.
Academic text (2016) -
Members of the court, know you that the crown would make a most felicitous announcement concerning the defense and security of our great kingdom.
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Owing, no doubt, to the conventions of the French lycee assignment, the last and least felicitous choice was made.
Academic text (1995) -
We close with Ayesha Jalal's especially felicitous phrasing of this need.
Academic text (1995) -
Reconciliation does not posit harmony between two states or peoples; it does, however, create a more felicitous environment within which conflicts can be addressed.
Academic text (2001) -
Democracy is the "fated circle," to use Tocqueville's felicitous phrase, within which political science operates in the modern world.
Academic text (2000) -
Mitchell is widely read and writes with an ear for the felicitous phrase, the bit of linguistic legerdemain that lodges in the mind.
Academic text (2000) -
Collini might just as easily have cited the felicitous phrases with which others praise Berlin's scholarly work.
Academic text (1999) -
Why does it sound more natural and felicitous, less awkward, to address an apostrophe to a patron instead of a city, to an absent friend rather than a present sunset, to a recently dead daughter and not an abstract entity?
Academic text (2002)
Synonyms
21
6.7
Said or written in words that fit well
Antonyms
How Appropriate
Surface Forms
Morphology
felicitous = felicity (semi-transparent) = felicit + ous
While 'felicitous' can mean 'apt' or 'well-chosen' (a sense related to one meaning of 'felicity'), the semantic link is not obvious to learners who only know 'felicity' as 'happiness'.
Etymology
Felicitous comes from the Latin root felix meaning 'happy' and the same root is in felicity, so a felicitous remark or choice is one that makes people feel pleased because it fits the moment well.