felicitous means characterized by felicity.; Appropriate, apt, fitting. It carries an Arena rating of 1465, earned across 3 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, felicitous ranks #660 of 17,130 for Most Beautiful Words, #1,756 of 17,134 for Most Malleable Words, #2,138 of 17,126 for Most Elegant Words, #7,853 of 17,104 for Most Storied Words.
felicitous is pronounced /fəˈlɪsɪtəs/.
Why “felicitous” is a great word
Characterized by a well-chosen and pleasing appropriateness, often imbued with an aura of good fortune. From felicity (from Latin felicitas, "happiness, good fortune," from felix, "happy, fortunate") + the English suffix -ous, meaning "full of or characterized by"; first recorded in English 1725–35. Unlike "apt," which suggests a bare fitness, or "fortunate," which merely describes a lucky outcome, "felicitous" carries the double weight of skillful choice and serendipitous charm. It is the precisely chosen word that unlocks a whole sentence, the accidental meeting of two old friends on a street corner heavy with autumn light, and the single flower placed where the sunlight will catch it at noon—a quiet vote of confidence in a universe that sometimes aligns.
Etymology
From felicity + -ous.
adj
- Characterized by felicity.; Appropriate, apt, fitting.
- Characterized by felicity.; Auspicious, fortunate, lucky.
- Characterized by felicity.; Causing happiness or pleasure.
- Of a sentence or utterance: semantically and pragmatically coherent; fitting in the context.e.g.“This sentence is grammatical; it is just not felicitous.”
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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