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as in pleasant
giving pleasure or contentment to the mind or senses a felicitous accompaniment to dinner is provided by a pianist on weekends at the restaurant

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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Synonym Chooser

How does the adjective felicitous differ from other similar words?

Some common synonyms of felicitous are appropriate, apt, fitting, fit, happy, meet, proper, and suitable. While all these words mean "right with respect to some end, need, use, or circumstance," felicitous suggests an aptness that is opportune, telling, or graceful.

a felicitous phrase

When is appropriate a more appropriate choice than felicitous?

While in some cases nearly identical to felicitous, appropriate implies eminent or distinctive fitness.

an appropriate gift

When might apt be a better fit than felicitous?

Although the words apt and felicitous have much in common, apt connotes a fitness marked by nicety and discrimination.

apt quotations

When would fit be a good substitute for felicitous?

The meanings of fit and felicitous largely overlap; however, fit stresses adaptability and sometimes special readiness for use or action.

fit for battle

When could fitting be used to replace felicitous?

In some situations, the words fitting and felicitous are roughly equivalent. However, fitting implies harmony of mood or tone.

a fitting end

Where would happy be a reasonable alternative to felicitous?

While the synonyms happy and felicitous are close in meaning, happy suggests what is effectively or successfully appropriate.

a happy choice of words

When is it sensible to use meet instead of felicitous?

The words meet and felicitous are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, meet suggests a just proportioning.

meet payment

When can proper be used instead of felicitous?

The synonyms proper and felicitous are sometimes interchangeable, but proper suggests a suitability through essential nature or accordance with custom.

proper acknowledgement

In what contexts can suitable take the place of felicitous?

The words suitable and felicitous can be used in similar contexts, but suitable implies an answering to requirements or demands.

clothes suitable for camping

Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of felicitous That breadth is a felicitous analog to the roaming comedy of the script. Scott Hocker, theweek, 5 Jan. 2024 Ellis-Bextor now joins Kate Bush in the league of criminally underrated British singers who have received a late-career reappraisal thanks to a felicitous TV or film sync. Vulture, 11 Jan. 2024 A couple of bright, shining hours can endow a day with a felicitous look and feel. Martin Weil, Washington Post, 23 Dec. 2023 The sporty coupe burbles, crackles and pops with each downshift, a felicitous experience for driver and passenger alike. Morgan Korn, ABC News, 9 Dec. 2023 See all Example Sentences for felicitous 
Recent Examples of Synonyms for felicitous
Adjective
  • While most warming devices come only in plain blacks and grays, these go out of their way to look pleasant in four colorful designs.
    Clint Davis, Better Homes & Gardens, 25 Jan. 2025
  • Image While perfectly pleasant to watch, the movement here, paired with the sentimental music, telegraphs a gravity that feels put on from the outside, rather than emanating from some deeper internal purpose or choreographic motor.
    Siobhan Burke, New York Times, 24 Jan. 2025
Adjective
  • Although most organic waste is suitable for bokashi composting, don’t add moldy food, pet waste, or excessive amounts of liquid or oil to your bokashi composter.
    Lauren Landers, Better Homes & Gardens, 19 Jan. 2025
  • Herbal medicines may be inconsistent in strength and efficacy between batches and may not be suitable for use on sensitive skin.6 More research may be needed to help better understand the differences in psoriasis severity between Asian people and people of other ethnicities.
    Sayaka Blickenderfer, PhD, Health, 18 Jan. 2025
Adjective
  • Sitting at the desk, which was outlined by windows on three sides, made answering emails equal parts delightful and distracting.
    Alexandra Cheney, Travel + Leisure, 25 Jan. 2025
  • In addition to being a delightful romance, Saving Face is also a fantastic rumination on the labyrinthine relationship between mother and daughter.
    Sadie Collins, Them, 24 Jan. 2025
Adjective
  • With Biden, the vice presidency seemed to return to a more appropriate equilibrium after Cheney’s extraordinary tenure.
    Roy Brownell, Baltimore Sun, 18 Jan. 2025
  • This is an appropriate reception for a player who, for long spells, was irresistible against Brighton at the Totally Wicked Stadium in St Helens.
    Megan Feringa, The Athletic, 17 Jan. 2025
Adjective
  • Making delicious meals at home shouldn’t come at the expense of your sanity.
    Averi Baudler, People.com, 16 Jan. 2025
  • The festival, held at History San José every June, honors the contributions of the Portuguese-American community while offering a taste of the homeland through delicious food, traditional music and lively folk dances.
    Brittany Delay, The Mercury News, 16 Jan. 2025
Adjective
  • The location seemed fitting for the executive-heavy and tech-centric crowd, since the museum focuses on architecture, design, engineering and urban planning.
    Rosemary Feitelberg, WWD, 20 Jan. 2025
  • But now everything is closed in, and people still have strange desires that are not fitting in with today’s life.
    David Marchese, Vulture, 16 Jan. 2025
Adjective
  • Reacting to the decision by the Trump administration to close the U.S. visa section of the embassy in Colombia, Petro said there are thousands of Americans living in Colombia without proper documentation.
    Sonia Osorio, Miami Herald, 26 Jan. 2025
  • The show leaves us with the reminder that without proper investment in healthcare infrastructure, even the most skilled medical teams can be hindered in their efforts to save lives.
    Isadora Wandermurem, TIME, 25 Jan. 2025
Adjective
  • Known for decades as FedEx Field, the stadium developed a reputation as hard to get to, hard to leave thanks to crushing traffic, expensive and not exactly aesthetically pleasing.
    Kyle Feldscher, CNN, 18 Jan. 2025
  • This can prompt a decision to name the baby after a grandparent or choose a name that is pleasing to a grandparent.
    Mia Taylor, Parents, 9 Jan. 2025

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Thesaurus Entries Near felicitous

Cite this Entry

“Felicitous.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/felicitous. Accessed 1 Feb. 2025.

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