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FORTUNE
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
An unknown and unpredictable phenomenon that causes an event to result one way rather than another
Example:
we ran into each other by pure chance
Synonyms:
Classified under:
Nouns denoting natural phenomena
Hypernyms ("fortune" is a kind of...):
phenomenon (any state or process known through the senses rather than by intuition or reasoning)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "fortune"):
bad luck; mischance; mishap (an unpredictable outcome that is unfortunate)
even chance; toss-up; tossup (an unpredictable phenomenon)
Sense 2
Meaning:
An unknown and unpredictable phenomenon that leads to a favorable outcome
Example:
it was as if fortune guided his hand
Synonyms:
fortune; luck
Classified under:
Nouns denoting natural phenomena
Hypernyms ("fortune" is a kind of...):
phenomenon (any state or process known through the senses rather than by intuition or reasoning)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "fortune"):
fluke; good fortune; good luck (a stroke of luck)
Sense 3
Meaning:
A large amount of wealth or prosperity
Classified under:
Nouns denoting possession and transfer of possession
Hypernyms ("fortune" is a kind of...):
hoarded wealth; treasure (accumulated wealth in the form of money or jewels etc.)
Sense 4
Meaning:
Your overall circumstances or condition in life (including everything that happens to you)
Example:
success that was her portion
Synonyms:
circumstances; destiny; fate; fortune; lot; luck; portion
Classified under:
Nouns denoting stable states of affairs
Hypernyms ("fortune" is a kind of...):
condition (a mode of being or form of existence of a person or thing)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "fortune"):
good fortune; good luck; luckiness (an auspicious state resulting from favorable outcomes)
providence (a manifestation of God's foresightful care for his creatures)
bad luck; ill luck; misfortune; tough luck (an unfortunate state resulting from unfavorable outcomes)
failure (lack of success)
Context examples:
"You were serious when I told you you had got a fortune; and now, for a matter of no moment, you are excited."
(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)
Clerval continued talking for some time about our mutual friends and his own good fortune in being permitted to come to Ingolstadt.
(Frankenstein, by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley)
Well, then, Hawkins, what in fortune were they after?
(Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)
If so, you are a true child of fortune.
(Fairy Tales, by The Brothers Grimm)
Then the Tin Woodman went back to his friends, who wished him every joy on account of his good fortune.
(The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, by L. Frank Baum)
Tell me, then, what fortune comes upon me?
(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
It was indeed the first of a series of events which affected not only my fortunes, but those of very much more important people.
(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
In this character, it was frequently his fortune to be the last reputable acquaintance and the last good influence in the lives of downgoing men.
(The Strange Case Of Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde, by Robert Louis Stevenson)
Fortune was very good to us at first.
(His Last Bow, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
Your other banner day for romance will be Friday, March 27, when Venus in Taurus will be in heavenly harmony (trine) with good-fortune Jupiter.
(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)
