fortuitous
/fɔːˈtjuː.ɪ.təs/
"fortuitous" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“fortuitous” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #42,648 in English word frequency and used as an adjective.
- #42,648
- frequency rank, English
- 10
- letters
- 14
- tracked misspellings
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Happening by chance; coincidental, accidental.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | fortuitous |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /fɔːˈtjuː.ɪ.təs/ |
| Letters | 10 |
| Frequency rank | #42,648 |
| Misspellings tracked | 14 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “fortuitous” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for fortuitous is 10 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /fɔːˈtjuː.ɪ.təs/. Corpus data places it at rank #42,648 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 3 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 14 likely wrong-spelling variants for fortuitous, with forms such as "ffortuitous", "forrtuitous", and "fortiutous". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Latin fortuītus. The correct English form is fortuitous, spelled F-O-R-T-U-I-T-O-U-S.
Definition
- 1Happening by chance; coincidental, accidental.
- 2Happening by a lucky chance; lucky or fortunate.
- 3Happening independently of human will.
Etymology
From Latin fortuītus.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: ffortuitous,forrtuitous,fortiutous,forttuitous,fortuiotus,fortuitosu,fortuitouss,fortuittous,fortuituos,fortutious,forutitous,fotruitous,frotuitous,ofrtuitous
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of fortuitous - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you spell "fortuitous"?
What does "fortuitous" mean?
What are common misspellings of "fortuitous"?
How do you pronounce "fortuitous"?
What is the origin of the word "fortuitous"?
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Using “fortuitous”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is F-O-R-T-U-I-T-O-U-S - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /fɔːˈtjuː.ɪ.təs/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.