felicitous

adjective

fi-ˈli-sə-təs How to pronounce felicitous (audio)
Definition of felicitousnext
1
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
2
as in suitable
meeting the requirements of a purpose or situation the museum's restaurant is featuring a French menu as a felicitous complement to the current show on French Impressionism

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 Pebble Beach is the felicitous meeting of land and sea. — ABC News, 8 Apr. 2026 Nara Lee, from South Korea, and Barry Collins, from the UK, had much more felicitous travel experiences. — Maureen O'Hare, CNN Money, 23 Aug. 2025 See All Example Sentences for felicitous
Recent Examples of Synonyms for felicitous
  1. pleasant
  2. suitable
  3. delightful
  4. appropriate
  5. delicious
  6. fitting
  7. enjoyable
  8. proper
Adjective
  • Despite the minimalism and lack of physical controls, the EX30 interior isn’t a bad place to be—Volvo’s interior designers tend to understand the assignment well, and the textures and materials are pleasant to the touch.
    — Jonathan M. Gitlin, ArsTechnica, 1 July 2026
  • This was a pleasant surprise given the significant worldwide controversy surrounding Huawei’s dominance in constructing 4G infrastructure.
    — Wesley Alexander Hill, Forbes.com, 1 July 2026
Definition of pleasant
Adjective
  • There is also an abundance of suitable training facilities in the region, which is in the circuit of MLS preseason destinations.
    — Ian Nicholas Quillen, Forbes.com, 4 July 2026
  • The modular, and containerized electromagnetic aircraft launch system is capable of deploying drones from almost any suitable location.
    — Prabhat Ranjan Mishra, Interesting Engineering, 3 July 2026
Definition of suitable
Adjective
  • Small in size but big on personality, Little Spirit remains one of Atlanta’s most consistently delightful neighborhood cocktail bars.
    — Blair Crosby, AJC.com, 5 July 2026
  • Sidny Lopes Cabral’s delightful curling strike was one of the great World Cup moments and the image of him in the crowd right after was poignant.
    — Anantaajith Raghuraman, New York Times, 5 July 2026
Definition of delightful
Adjective
  • Parton’s Imagination Library mails free, age-appropriate books every month to children from birth to age five.
    — Lisa Gutierrez, Kansas City Star, 3 July 2026
  • Recent policies that State Shield has supported include a Tennessee bill requiring the state board of education to adopt age-appropriate instruction related to communism and a Louisiana resolution encouraging economic ties with Taiwan.
    — Max Grinstein, The Washington Examiner, 3 July 2026
Definition of appropriate
Adjective
  • Whip up a big batch of this delicious chicken salad to have ready to go all week.
    — Patricia S York, Southern Living, 4 July 2026
  • That includes delicious deals across lots of furniture and home decor, including bedroom pieces, outdoor gems, and ceramics to uplift any area of your home.
    — Audrey Lee, Architectural Digest, 3 July 2026
Definition of delicious
Adjective
  • Mosquitoes are attracted to dark colors, so wear light loose-fitting, light colored clothing, says Gray.
    — Arricca Elin SanSone, Southern Living, 3 July 2026
  • The ceremony, reportedly held at New York's iconic Madison Square Garden, seems like a fitting venue for a musical performance.
    — Charlie Carballo, USA Today, 3 July 2026
Definition of fitting
Adjective
  • More than 90% agreed or strongly agreed that scent work is enjoyable for dogs, tires them out and builds confidence in shy dogs.
    — Ryan Brennan, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 7 July 2026
  • An enjoyable end-to-end affair where the first half felt like a rout, with Australia having as many shots as yellow cards — two, the same number of goals the United States had scored.
    — Anantaajith Raghuraman, New York Times, 5 July 2026
Definition of enjoyable
Adjective
  • Weist herself appears in a brief introductory clip before the performance proper.
    — Rhoda Feng, Los Angeles Times, 7 July 2026
  • While the theme words will not be a proper name, the spangram can be a proper name.
    — Paul Tassi, Forbes.com, 6 July 2026
Definition of proper

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felicities
felicitous
felicitously
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Cite this Entry

“Felicitous.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/felicitous. Accessed 7 Jul. 2026.

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Nglish: Translation of felicitous for Spanish Speakers

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