felicitous

adjective

fe·lic·i·tous fi-ˈli-sə-təs

Synonyms of felicitous next

: very well suited or expressed : apt

a felicitous remark

handled the delicate matter in a most felicitous manner

: pleasant, delightful

felicitous weather

The ride through the countryside is a felicitous journey for city people.

felicitously adverb

felicitousness noun

Did you know?

Before a mouse named Mickey ruled the animation scene, there was Felix—a wily black cat who is often regarded as the first cartoon star, and who became an international sensation in the early 20th century for films such as Felix in Hollywood (1923) and Comicalamities (1928). “Felix,” you might say, was a felicitous—that is, apt—name for the happy, Chaplinesque feline. Felix, after all, is a Latin word meaning “happy” or “fruitful,” and the ancestor of the English adjective felicitous, which can mean both “pleasant and delightful,” and “very well suited or expressed.” With regard to the “apt” sense of felicitous, it’s important to note that it is most often applied to someone’s actions or expressions (as in “a felicitous phrase”). In other words, no matter how fitting someone’s choice of pants may be for, say, the world premiere of a new animated movie, it would not be fitting to say “they arrived at the theater wearing felicitous pants.”

Choose the Right Synonym for felicitous

fit, suitable, meet, proper, appropriate, fitting, apt, happy, felicitous mean right with respect to some end, need, use, or circumstance.

fit stresses adaptability and sometimes special readiness for use or action.

fit for battle

suitable implies an answering to requirements or demands.

clothes suitable for camping

meet suggests a just proportioning.

meet payment

proper suggests a suitability through essential nature or accordance with custom.

proper acknowledgement

appropriate implies eminent or distinctive fitness.

an appropriate gift

fitting implies harmony of mood or tone.

a fitting end

apt connotes a fitness marked by nicety and discrimination.

apt quotations

happy suggests what is effectively or successfully appropriate.

a happy choice of words

felicitous suggests an aptness that is opportune, telling, or graceful.

a felicitous phrase

Examples of felicitous in a Sentence

a felicitous combination of flavors a felicitous accompaniment to dinner is provided by a pianist on weekends at the restaurant

Recent Examples on the Web

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

The screenplay that Gracey wrote with Simon Gleeson and Oliver Cole is less felicitous. —

Stephen Farber, The Hollywood Reporter, 3 Sep. 2024 And in one of those felicitous culinary accidents like the Toll House cookie, wound up with a gluten-free product. —

Florence Fabricant, New York Times, 27 Mar. 2024 Advertisement Some of Sondheim’s best jokes are swallowed up in the imbalance between singers and orchestra, a situation exacerbated by a perhaps unanticipated and more felicitous problem: the audiences’ frequent boisterous response. —

Peter Marks, Washington Post, 27 Mar. 2023 Pebble Beach was not a felicitous meeting of land and sea. —

Doug Ferguson, USA TODAY, 5 Feb. 2024 See all Example Sentences for felicitous