Fortuitous \For*tu"i*tous\, a. [L. fortuitus; akin to forte,
adv., by chance, prop. abl. of fors, fortis, chance. See
Fortune.]
1. Happening by chance; coming or occuring unexpectedly, or
without any known cause; chance; as, the fortuitous
concourse of atoms.
[1913 Webster]
It was from causes seemingly fortuitous . . . that
all the mighty effects of the Reformation flowed.
--Robertson.
[1913 Webster]
So as to throw a glancing and fortuitous light upon
the whole. --Hazlitt.
[1913 Webster]
2. (LAw) Happening independently of human will or means of
foresight; resulting from unavoidable physical causes.
--Abbott.
Syn: Accidental; casual; contingent; incidental. See
Accidental. --
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
fortuitous
adj 1: having no cause or apparent cause; "a causeless miracle";
"fortuitous encounters--strange accidents of fortune";
"we cannot regard artistic invention as...uncaused and
unrelated to the times" [syn: causeless, uncaused]
2: occurring by happy chance; "profits were enhanced by a
fortuitous drop in the cost of raw materials"
WordNet (r) 2.0
44 Moby Thesaurus words for "fortuitous":
accessory, accidental, additional, adscititious, adventitious,
aleatory, appurtenant, ascititious, auxiliary, casual, causeless,
chance, chancy, circumstantial, collateral, contingent, destinal,
dicey, extra, fatal, fatidic, fluky, iffy, incidental,
indeterminate, inessential, nonessential, odd, risky, secondary,
subsidiary, superadded, superfluous, supervenient, supplemental,
supplementary, uncaused, undetermined, unessential, unexpected,
unforeseeable, unforeseen, unlooked-for, unpredictable
Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0
causeless, uncaused
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