fortune
/'fɔ:tʃn/
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
Noun: 1. An unknown and unpredictable force or phenomenon that affects events in life, often leading to a favorable outcome; luck or chance. This meaning refers to the arbitrary, uncontrollable element that influences life's events, whether good or bad. 2. A large amount of wealth or prosperity; a great sum of money or valuable possessions. This meaning refers to material success and abundance. 3. (Archaic) What happens or befalls someone; fate or destiny. This older usage refers to the overall course of one's life as determined by external forces.
Examples of Usage
- Meaning 1 (Luck/Chance):
- He had the good fortune to meet a mentor early in his career.
- They blamed their failure on bad fortune.
- The game depends as much on fortune as on skill.
- Meaning 2 (Wealth):
- She inherited a considerable fortune from her aunt.
- He made his fortune in the software industry.
- That painting must be worth a fortune.
- Meaning 3 (Fate/Destiny - Archaic):
- "Whatever my fortune may be," he said, "I will face it with courage." (This usage is now literary or formal).
Advanced Usage
- "A small fortune": A very large amount of money (used informally to emphasize high cost).
- That luxury car must have cost a small fortune.
- "To tell (someone's) fortune": To predict what will happen in someone's future, often using mystical or pseudoscientific methods.
- At the fair, a woman offered to tell my fortune.
- "Fortune favors the bold" (Proverb): Success often comes to those who take risks and act courageously.
Variants and Related Words
- Fortunate (adjective): Having good luck; favored by fortune.
- We were fortunate to escape the storm.
- Unfortunately (adverb): Used to express regret or disappointment about a situation; by bad luck.
- Unfortunately, the train was delayed.
- Misfortune (noun): Bad luck; an unfortunate condition or event.
- He had the misfortune of losing his passport.
Synonyms
- For Meaning 1 (Luck): Luck, chance, serendipity, providence.
- For Meaning 2 (Wealth): Wealth, riches, prosperity, affluence, means.
- For Meaning 3 (Fate): Fate, destiny, lot, portion.
Related Phrases
- Soldier of fortune: A mercenary; a professional soldier hired to serve in a foreign army.
- Fortune hunter: A person who seeks to gain wealth, especially by marrying a rich person.
- Fortune cookie: A crisp cookie containing a slip of paper with a prediction or proverb, often served in Chinese restaurants.
Related Idioms
- To make a fortune: To acquire great wealth.
- He made a fortune by investing in technology stocks early.
- To spend a fortune: To spend a very large amount of money.
- They spent a fortune renovating their kitchen.
- To seek one's fortune: To go to a new place in the hope of finding success and wealth.
- He left his village to seek his fortune in the city.
Noun
- your overall circumstances or condition in life (including everything that happens to you)
- whatever my fortune may be
- deserved a better fate
- has a happy lot
- the luck of the Irish
- a victim of circumstances
- success that was her portion
- an unknown and unpredictable phenomenon that leads to a favorable outcome
- it was my good luck to be there
- they say luck is a lady
- it was as if fortune guided his hand
- a large amount of wealth or prosperity
- an unknown and unpredictable phenomenon that causes an event to result one way rather than another
- bad luck caused his downfall
- we ran into each other by pure chance