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fortuito

fortuitous, chance

adjective for-TOO-ee-toh Rare
Descriptions & Qualities Conditions

Origin: From Latin fortuitus, from fors (chance, luck).

Also means

accidental, unplanned

Usage Note

Fortuito describes an event that happened by chance, without intention. In legal Italian, caso fortuito is an act of God or unforeseeable event that absolves liability — a technical term any learner of legal language will encounter. It is a near-synonym of casuale, but fortuito tends to be more formal and literary.

Examples

"L'incontro fu del tutto fortuito."

Natural Translation

The encounter was entirely by chance.

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