Fortunately
adv.joyful, hopefuleveryday
What it means
By good luck or through a welcome circumstance.
Reach for it when marking a welcome circumstance or outcome
Fortunately, a spare pump was available nearby.
Choose between these
5- everyday
casual speech openly credits luck
not when Luckily can sound flippant after serious danger.
- warm
relief follows an avoided hardship
not when A minor convenience cannot carry mercifully's moral weight.
- formal
by good fortune
the role of luck should be explicit
not when The phrase is cumbersome in concise prose.
- literary
a positive outcome deserves gentle narrative relief
not when Happily can mean cheerfully rather than fortunately.
- literary
providentially
faith-based prose sees benevolent guidance
not when The word asserts a religious interpretation not everyone shares.
Said against
3- unfortunately
- regrettably
- unluckily
It naturally appears in
3- fortunately for us
Fortunately for us, the spare pump worked.
- most fortunately
Most fortunately, the storm changed course.
- fortunately available
A second vehicle was fortunately available.
The word family
1Where this comes from
- wiktionary, English adverb sense: by good fortune opens in a new tab · retrieved 2026-07-26
The definition and the example on this page are written here. The dictionaries above ground which meaning is being described, not the wording.