Skip to main content
fortuitousness

fortuitousness

8.9
Good luck when something happens by accident
  • noun
  • /fɔrˈtjuːɪtəsnəs/
  • Formal
translation icon : fortuna
  • Documentary fortuitousness? Julianne Moore, now clearly deceased, reappears precisely at the right edge of the frame due to the Doggicam camera movement.

Examples

  • The fortuitousness of meeting her old friend at the cafe was a pleasant surprise.

  • This distinction between what was mere chance or circumstance (and hence able to be ignored) and what was purposeful or designed (and hence requiring attention) allowed the subject a pacifying account for a broad class of events which otherwise would be alarming, events which he himself can attribute to some form or other of 'fortuitousness'...

    Academic text (2002)
  • His success in the competition was attributed to the fortuitousness of having the right skills at the right time.

  • The fortuitousness of finding a $20 bill on the ground brightened her day.

Synonyms

good luck
vsfortuitousness
547 1.0

A fortunate event that happens by chance

refers to the general quality of occurring by accident and giving favorable results
good fortune
vsfortuitousness
66 2.5

A lucky event or success that happens by chance

emphasizes accidental happenings that produce a favorable result
serendipity
vsfortuitousness
15 7.9

A happy chance event that brings good results

focuses on single accidental happenings that produce a favorable result
dumb luck
vsfortuitousness
  • Informal
8 3.9

Good luck that happens by chance, not because you worked for it

is the neutral term for accidental positive outcomes without implying lack of skill
luckiness
vsfortuitousness
2.0

A state when good things happen by chance

focuses on events that occur by accident and give a favorable result

Antonyms

469 1.2

Not lucky or causing a bad result

How Lucky

miracle
4.4
serendipity
15 7.9
fortuitousness
  • Formal
8.9
accident
355 1.0
coincidence
426 3.4

Surface Forms

Morphology

fortuitousness = fortuitous (semi-transparent) = fortuitous + ness

The noun is a straightforward nominalization of the adjective 'fortuitous' using the productive suffix '-ness'.

Etymology

The word fortuitousness comes from the same root as fortune, from a Latin word meaning 'chance' or 'luck'. So fortuitousness is the quality of happening by 'chance' and turning out lucky.