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Fortuitous vs Fortunate

Fortuitousadjective

having no cause or apparent cause

Full entry for Fortuitous

Fortunateadjective

having unexpected good fortune

The difference

Fortuitous strictly means happening by chance, with no comment on whether it was good. Fortunate means lucky. A fortuitous meeting may be a disaster.

How to keep them apart

The words have converged in casual use, but on a test fortuitous means accidental, not welcome.

Other pairs worth knowing

All confused pairs · SAT list · GRE list · Full word list