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Glite Dictionary
unpropitious

unpropitious

9.3
Not likely to succeed or have a good result
  • adjective
  • /ˌʌnprəˈpɪʃəs/
translation icon : desfavorable
  • In unpropitious circumstances, you have to do the best you can with preparing a position.

Examples

  • During that unpropitious period of revolutionary challenge from abroad, Grey had been a radical reformer.

  • The negative answers to these questions have unpropitious implications for the quality of data so acquired.

    Academic text (1991)

  • During that unpropitious period of revolutionary challenge from abroad, Grey had been a radical reformer.

    Academic text (2010)

  • Liberal Saudi spokesmen explained that not all were opposed to women's driving, but that the incident came at an unpropitious moment.

    Academic text (2003)

  • But the heroes are gone, the times are unpropitious.

Synonyms

ill-fated
vsunpropitious
19 6.1

Likely to have very bad luck and end badly

is unlikely rather than destined to fail or meet disaster
inauspicious
vsunpropitious
4 8.1

Likely to bring bad luck and make success unlikely

is unfavorable without necessarily showing clear bad omens
unviable
vsunpropitious
2 6.4

Not able to succeed or continue, for example a project

is unlikely to succeed but not necessarily unable to continue

Antonyms

propitious
  • Formal
5 8.4

Likely to help something succeed

How Propitious

propitious
  • Formal
5 8.4
unpropitious
9.3
unfavorable
  • US
31 4.5

Surface Forms

unpropitious positive
unpropitiousness positive

Morphology

unpropitious = propitious (transparent) = un + propitious

A straightforward negation formed by the productive prefix 'un-' applied to the adjective 'propitious', yielding the opposite meaning.

Etymology

The word unpropitious is made from un- meaning 'not' and propitious meaning 'favourable' or 'likely to help'. So, unpropitious describes a time or condition that is 'not favourable' and unlikely to bring success.