propitious
adjective
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Propitious, which comes to us through Middle English from the Latin word propitius, is a synonym of favorable and auspicious. All three essentially mean "pointing toward a happy outcome," with some differences of emphasis. Favorable implies that someone or something involved in a situation is approving or helpful ("a favorable recommendation"), or that circumstances are advantageous ("favorable weather conditions"). Auspicious usually applies to a sign or omen that promises success before or at the start of an event ("an auspicious beginning"). Propitious may also apply to beginnings, but it often suggests a continuing promising condition ("propitious conditions for an alliance").
Synonyms
- auspicious
- bright
- encouraging
- fair
- golden
- heartening
- hopeful
- likely
- optimistic
- promising
- rose-colored
- roseate
- rosy
- upbeat
Example Sentences
Los Angeles Times, 28 July 2022 The addition of a minority owner comes at a propitious time for the franchise. Jim Ingraham, Forbes, 17 June 2022 That propitious timing—plus four separate funding rounds in the span of 20 months—means Monte Carlo should be well capitalized to pursue its aim of improving the quality of data that other companies use to make decisions. Kevin Dowd, Forbes, 27 May 2022 All of which argues for international monetary reform, even though the timing might seem less than propitious. WSJ, 22 Apr. 2022 That long-running installation parades feats by American adepts—Edward Hopper, Alexander Calder, Jacob Lawrence, Willem de Kooning—along various routes, with propitious detours toward world-beating Abstract Expressionism, Pop art, and Minimalism. Peter Schjeldahl, The New Yorker, 6 June 2022 Now seems like a propitious time to begin jettisoning reliance on Russia for any such technology, since the national defense strategy identifies Moscow as a major threat for the foreseeable future. Loren Thompson, Forbes, 12 Apr. 2022 Chamberlain has sometimes been defended for buying time until conditions were more propitious for Great Britain to fight, something implied at the end of Munich. Geoffrey Wheatcroft, The New Republic, 21 Feb. 2022 This might be a propitious moment for President Biden to visit the kingdom and seek forgiveness for a growing list of Saudi grievances that have badly damaged relations between Washington and Riyadh. Karen Elliott House, WSJ, 31 Mar. 2022 See More Word History
Middle English propycyous, from Anglo-French propicius, from Latin propitius, probably from pro- for + petere to seek — more at pro-, feather
15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1
propitious
adjective
Synonyms & Similar Words
- promising
- bright
- optimistic
- auspicious
- hopeful
- likely
- rosy
- encouraging
- favorable
- golden
- roseate
- upbeat
- fair
- heartening
- positive
- good
- reassuring
- doubtless
- rose-colored
- decisive
- soothing
- comforting
- cheering
- assured
- confident
- sure
- unhesitating
- bullish
- beamish
- eupeptic
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- unlikely
- dark
- inauspicious
- desperate
- gloomy
- unpromising
- dismal
- unpropitious
- hopeless
- discouraging
- bleak
- pessimistic
- dreary
- depressing
- uncertain
- disheartening
- doubtful
- cheerless
- unfavorable
- dubious
- negative
- downbeat
- grim
- unencouraging
- comfortless
- miserable
- gray
- bearish
- grey
- wretched
- glum
- funereal
Synonyms & Similar Words
- promising
- favorable
- encouraging
- bright
- auspicious
- hopeful
- happy
- golden
- lucky
- beneficial
- fortuitous
- advantageous
- fortunate
- providential
- heartening
- profitable
- prosperous
- salutary
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- unpropitious
- unfavorable
- inauspicious
- unpromising
- discouraging
- dim
- hopeless
- unfortunate
- disheartening
- unhappy
- unlucky
- disastrous
- fatal
- calamitous
- catastrophic
- ruinous
- futureless
- portentous
- ominous
- dark
- gloomy
- sinister
- ill
- direful
- dire
- baleful
- threatening
- menacing
- minatory
- foreboding
- ill-boding
- doomy
Synonym Chooser
The words auspicious and favorable are common synonyms of propitious. While all three words mean "pointing toward a happy outcome," propitious may also apply to beginnings but often implies a continuing favorable condition.
In some situations, the words auspicious and propitious are roughly equivalent. However, auspicious applies to something taken as a sign or omen promising success before or at the start of an event.
The synonyms favorable and propitious are sometimes interchangeable, but favorable implies that the persons involved are approving or helpful or that the circumstances are advantageous.