fortune
[noun]
Synonyms:
- wealth, affluence, opulence, possessions, property, prosperity, riches, treasure
- luck, chance, destiny, fate, kismet, providence
- fortunes: destiny, adventures, experiences, history, lot, success

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Antonyms: misfortune
Contrasted words: design, intent, intention
Related Idioms: king's ransom, pretty penny, tidy sum
Related Words: destiny, doom, portion

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English Thesaurus: later, following, future, subsequent, succeeding, ...

[TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲

for‧tune S3 W3 /ˈfɔːtʃən $ ˈfɔːr-/ noun
[Word Family: noun: fortune, misfortune, unfortunate; adverb: fortunately ≠ unfortunately; adjective: fortunate ≠ unfortunate]
[Date: 1200-1300; Language: French; Origin: Latin fortuna]

1. MONEY [countable] a very large amount of money:
He made a fortune selling property in Spain.
My first painting sold for £25, a small fortune then for an art student.
He died in poverty in 1947, but his art is worth a fortune.
The carpet must have cost a fortune.
It is quite easy to decorate your house without spending a fortune.
Her personal fortune was estimated at £37 million.

2. CHANCE [uncountable] chance or luck, and the effect that it has on your life:
I had the good fortune to work with a brilliant head of department.
Sickness or ill fortune could reduce you to a needy situation.
I felt it was useless to struggle against fortune.

3. WHAT HAPPENS TO YOU [countable usually plural] the good or bad things that happen in life:
a downturn in the company’s fortunes
This defeat marked a change in the team’s fortunes.
The geographical position of the frontier fluctuated with the fortunes of war (=the things that can happen during a war).

4. tell sb’s fortune to tell someone what will happen to them in the future by looking at their hands, using cards etc
⇒ soldier of fortune, ⇒ fame and fortune at fame, ⇒ a hostage to fortune at hostage(3), ⇒ seek your fortune at seek(4)

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

Fortune 500, the /ˌfɔːtʃən faɪv ˈhʌndrəd $ ˌfɔːr-/
the 500 largest companies in the US, which are named in a yearly list in Fortune magazine:
She's a vice-president of a Fortune 500 company.

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

fortune
noun
I. luck
ADJ. good | ill
QUANT. piece, stroke By a stroke of good fortune, Steven was still in his office.
VERB + FORTUNE have | bring (sb) A horseshoe nailed to your door is supposed to bring good fortune.
FORTUNE + VERB be on sb's side, favour sb For once, fortune was on our side: the weather improved in time for the match.
smile on sb Fortune smiled on me that day (= I had good fortune).
PHRASES as good/ill fortune would have it As good fortune would have it, a bus came along just when I needed it.
a change in/of fortune All we can do is hope for a change in fortune.
have the good fortune to do sth I had the good fortune to work with people I liked.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

fortune
II. fortunes: what happens to sb/sth
ADJ. declining, flagging | changing, fluctuating, mixed a year of mixed fortunes for the company
economic, electoral
VERB + FORTUNE revive The party still hopes to revive its flagging electoral fortunes.
follow fans who follow the fortunes of their chosen team
FORTUNE + VERB change, fluctuate A company's fortunes can change overnight.
improve, rise | decline, fall as the country's fortunes rose and fell
PHRASES a reversal of fortunes The company suffered a great reversal of fortunes when public taste changed.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

fortune
III. what is going to happen to sb in the future
VERB + FORTUNE read, tell They went to have their fortunes read.
FORTUNE + NOUN teller, telling

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

fortune
IV. very large amount of money
ADJ. considerable, enormous, great, immense, large, substantial, vast | small (= quite large) Rebuilding the house must have cost a small fortune.
family, personal
VERB + FORTUNE accumulate, acquire, amass, build (up), make, win | inherit | leave (sb) Her aunt died and left her a fortune.
lose, squander He lost his fortune in the stock market crash of 1929. squandering the family fortune
seek They went to seek their fortune abroad.
be worth (informal) Some of those old toys are worth a fortune now.
cost (informal)
pay, spend (both informal) She spends a fortune on clothes!
PREP. ~ from He built his fortune from breeding horses.
~ in She made a fortune in the property boom.
~ on They sold their house at the right time and made a fortune on it.
~ out He has amassed a considerable fortune out of trading shares.
PHRASES fame and fortune They went to America in search of fame and fortune.
heir/heiress to a fortune He was sole heir to the family fortune.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

fortune

make a fortune (also amass a fortune formal) (=gain a lot of money)
His family amassed a fortune during that period.
make your fortune (=become rich)
She made her fortune in the cosmetics industry.
earn a fortune
He hopes to earn a fortune from his latest invention.
lose a fortune (=lose a lot of money)
He lost a fortune in an unwise business deal.
cost a fortune (=be very expensive)
It’ll cost a fortune if we go by taxi.
spend a fortune
You don’t have to spend a fortune giving your family healthy meals.
pay a fortune (=pay a lot of money)
We had to pay a fortune in rent.
inherit a fortune (=gain a lot of money after someone dies)
He inherited a fortune of a million pounds from his uncle.
leave somebody a fortune (=arrange for someone to receive a lot of money after you die)
He left his wife a modest fortune.
a huge/vast/immense fortune
Timothy was the heir to a vast fortune.
a large/substantial/considerable fortune
His father, an oil magnate, amassed a large fortune.
a small fortune (=a very large amount of money)
He made a small fortune in the London property boom.
a personal/private fortune
She is one of the richest women in Britain, with an estimated personal fortune of £90 million.
a £20 million/$40 million etc fortune
She is believed to have a £25 million fortune.
be worth a fortune informal:
The building itself is worth a fortune.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

fortune
noun
BAD: It was a good fortune that the driver was able to stop in time.
GOOD: It was fortunate/lucky that the driver was able to stop in time.

Usage Note:
Good fortune is quite rare. It occurs mainly in the phrase have the good fortune to do sth : 'He had the good fortune to marry a woman who was both kind and understanding.'

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Common Errors ▲

later happening or existing at some time in the future after something or someone else:
We will discuss this at a later time.
Later historians have cast doubt on the truth of his story.
They say that they may need to review the case at a later stage.
following happening or coming immediately after something – used about periods of time, or parts of a piece of writing:
He resigned the following year.
The following day he was back to normal.
Gandhi 's attitude to religion is dealt with in the following chapter.
future likely to happen or exist at some time in the future:
What influence will this have on future developments?
subsequent formal happening or coming at some time after something else:
a subsequent decision by the Supreme Court
Subsequent events proved him wrong.
In subsequent years, the number of patients became smaller and smaller.
succeeding coming after someone or something else - used about a series of groups of people, periods of time, or parts of a book:
His work was admired by succeeding generations.
Over the succeeding months, the stitches were carefully removed.
These problems are further discussed in the succeeding chapters.
predict the future (=say what will happen in the future)
No-one can predict the future of boxing.
foretell the future (=say or show what will happen in the future)
Some people think that dreams can foretell the future.
see/look into the future (=know what will happen in the future)
I wish I could see into the future.
look to the future (=think about or plan for the future)
She could now look to the future with confidence.
plan for the future (also make plans for the future) (=think carefully about the future and decide what you are going to do )
As soon as she knew she was pregnant, she started to plan for the future.
face a bleak/grim etc future
Many pensioners face a bleak future.
shape somebody's future
Your boss is the one who writes your evaluations, recommends you for promotions and shapes your future.
sb’s/sth’s future lies in/with something (=it is in a particular thing )
The country’s economic future lies with its skilled workforce.
the future looks good/bright etc
The future looks good for the company.
great/good
The country has a great future.
bright/promising (=showing signs of being successful)
Her future as a tennis player looks promising.
uncertain (=not clear or decided)
The college's future is now uncertain.
bleak/grim/dark (=without anything to make you feel hopeful)
The theatre is losing money and its future looks bleak.
the immediate future (=very soon)
There will be no major changes in the immediate future.
the near future (=soon)
A new product launch is planned for the near future.
the distant future (=a long time from now)
I don't worry about what might happen in the distant future.
the dim and distant future (=a very long time from now)
He plans to get married in the dim and distant future.
for/in the foreseeable future (=as far into the future as you can possibly know)
The population is expected to keep growing for the foreseeable future.
in the not too distant future (=quite soon)
We’re planning to go there again in the not too distant future.
sb’s hopes/fears/plans for the future
What are your hopes for the future?
sb’s worries/concerns about the future
their worries about the future of the English countryside
what the future holds (=what will happen)
He is worried about what the future holds for the company.
the future the time after now:
What will life be like in the future?
The company is hoping to expand in the near future (=soon).
from now on used when saying that something will always happen in the future, starting from now:
From now on, I’m not letting anyone borrow my car.
The meetings will be held once a month from now on.
From now on, you will have to make your own lunch.
From now on, homeowners will have to get a city permit if they want to build an addition onto their homes.
years/days etc to come for a long time in the future:
In years to come, people will look back on the 20th century as a turning point in history.
Nuclear power stations will still be needed for a long time to come.
in the long/short/medium term use this to talk about what will happen over a period from now until a long, short etc time in the future:
We don’t know what will happen in the long term.
In the short term, things look good.
Aid to these countries is bound to run into billions of dollars in the long term.
on the horizon used when talking about what is likely to happen in the future:
There are some big changes on the horizon.
sb’s/sth’s future what will happen to someone or something:
He knew that his future was in films.
Shareholders will meet to decide the company’s future.
fate someone or something’s future – used especially when you are worried that something bad could happen:
The fate of the hostages remains uncertain.
The show’s fate lies in the hands of TV bosses.
destiny what will happen to someone in their life, especially something important:
Sartre believed that everyone is in charge of their own destiny.
He thinks that it is his destiny to lead the country.
the outlook what will happen, especially concerning business, the economy, or the weather:
The economic outlook looks good.
Here is the weather outlook for tomorrow.
prospect the idea or possibility that something will happen:
the awful prospect of another terrorist attack
Prospects for a peace settlement don’t look too good.
fortune what will happen to a person, organization etc in the future – used especially when talking about whether or not they will be successful:
Fans are hoping for a change in the club’s fortunes.
Two years ago, my financial fortunes took a turn for the better (=they improved).
In 1680 he decided that his fortune lay in the theatre.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲

luck noun [uncountable] when good or bad things happen to people by chance:
The game involves an element of luck as well as skill.
chance noun [uncountable] the way that some things happen without being planned or caused by people:
I met her by chance on a plane to Tokyo.
Like all top athletes, he leaves nothing to chance, and trains harder than anybody.
fortune noun [uncountable] luck and the effect it has on your life:
I had the good fortune to work with some great people.
The tour was dogged by ill fortune (=it had a lot of bad luck) from the start.
Fortune has shone on the team so far this season (=they have been lucky).
fate noun [uncountable] a power that some people believe controls what happens to people and which cannot be changed or stopped:
Fate dealt him a cruel blow with the death of his wife at the age of 32.
It must have been fate that brought them together, and fate that tore them apart.
We can’t just leave it to fate.
providence noun [uncountable] a power which some people believe controls what happens in our lives and protects us:
Do you believe in divine providence (=God’s power to make things happen)?
Her life was mapped out for her by providence.
fluke noun [countable usually singular] informal something good that happens because of luck:
Their second goal was a fluke.
They won by a fluke.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲