fortuitous
- 1Happening by chance in a way that turns out lucky or fortunate.
A fortuitous deflection off a defender's foot gave the home team a late winning goal.
Her arrival just as the lights failed proved fortuitous, since she was the only one who knew where the fuse box was.
Similarlucky, fortunate, serendipitous, providential, happy
Oppositeunlucky, unfortunate
Note
The chance here pays off, and the word comes close to fortunate, which it resembles in sound, while the neutral meaning makes no such promise. Phil McNulty's 2021 BBC Sport report calls Kane's goal against Denmark a fortuitous winner, crediting luck as much as skill. Happy and providential are near synonyms; accidental is not, since it lacks the good fortune.
- 2Happening by chance, not because of any plan or cause.
A fortuitous combination of bad weather and a delayed train left him stranded overnight.
The resemblance between the two logos is entirely fortuitous, since neither designer had seen the other's work.
Similaraccidental, random, unplanned, unintended, unintentional
Oppositedeliberate, intentional, planned, intended
Note
Chance in this sense can cut either way: Dickens, in David Copperfield, writes of "a fortuitous combination of unpropitious events", while a character in Edith Wharton's The House of Mirth (1905) wonders whether love is "a mere fortuitous combination of happy thoughts and sensations". Fortuitous combination is a favorite pairing, and the adjective itself passes no judgment on whether the result is welcome.
- 3Happening independently of human will, rather than as a result of anyone's intention.
The contract excused any delay caused by fortuitous events beyond either party's control.
The court held that the collapse was fortuitous, since it arose from an earthquake rather than from any decision by the builders.
Similaraccidental
Oppositeintentional, deliberate
Note
In legal writing the test is will, not luck: an event is fortuitous when no one's choice brought it about, which is why the word matters wherever responsibility is weighed. An earthquake or a flood qualifies; harm that someone intended does not. Whether the outcome is good or bad, the question in the "lucky" meaning, is beside the point here.
Practice
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Origin
From Latin fortuītus.