auspicious

adjective

aus·​pi·​cious ȯ-ˈspi-shəs 

1

: showing or suggesting that future success is likely : propitious

made an auspicious beginning

Such an auspicious start might have brought only honor and further triumph, but a witches' brew of scientific contentiousness, the temper of the times, and quirks in Dubois's own psyche soon derailed any pleasant development and turned Dubois's bounty into bitterness.

—Stephen Jay Gould

2

: attended by good auspices : fortunate, prosperous

an auspicious year

… a festival that takes place during the hottest months of spring, just before the monsoon rains, and that is considered an auspicious time for weddings.

—Cynthia Gorney

In days of old, seers entered a trance state and then informed anxious seekers what kind of mood the gods were in, and whether this was an auspicious time to begin a journey, get married, or start a war.

—Harvey Cox

auspiciously adverb

auspiciousness noun

Did you know?

The Origin of Auspicious Is for the Birds

Some word knowledge to crow about in your next tweetstorm: auspicious comes from Latin auspex, which literally means “bird seer” (from the words avis, meaning “bird,” and specere, meaning “to look at”). In ancient Rome, these “bird seers” were priests or augurs who studied the flight and feeding patterns of birds, then delivered prophecies based on their observations. The right combination of bird behavior indicated favorable conditions, but the wrong patterns spelled trouble. The English noun auspice, which originally referred to this practice of observing birds to discover omens, also comes from Latin auspex. Today, the plural form auspices is often used with the meaning “kindly support and guidance.”

Synonyms

• bright
• encouraging
• fair
• golden
• heartening
• hopeful
• likely
• optimistic
• promising
• propitious
• rose-colored
• roseate
• rosy
• upbeat

Choose the Right Synonym for auspicious

favorable, auspicious, propitious mean pointing toward a happy outcome.

favorable implies that the persons involved are approving or helpful or that the circumstances are advantageous.

favorable weather conditions

auspicious applies to something taken as a sign or omen promising success before or at the start of an event.

an auspicious beginning

propitious may also apply to beginnings but often implies a continuing favorable condition.

a propitious time for starting a business

Examples of auspicious in a Sentence

After his auspicious debut, Chambers became sought after by serious collectors of folk art; but given that the present show is now only the second he has had and is the first retrospective look at him, he is probably as obscure to the general museum going public today as he was in 1942. —Sanford Schwartz, New York Review of Books, 15 Jan. 2009

There is, first of all, Marconi himself, the 21-year-old prodigy who burst on London with his gizmo in 1896. This wasn't the most auspicious moment for a half-Irish, half-Italian unknown to announce that he had bested some of the empire's greatest scientific minds. —Kevin Baker, New York Times Book Review, 5 Nov. 2006

Indeed, it hardly seems like an auspicious time to introduce a brand of cigarettes, especially for tiny Star, which accounts for just over 1 percent of the U.S. market with its four brands of discount smokes. —David Noonan, Newsweek, 16 Oct. 2000

His acclaimed first novel was an auspicious debut.

told him she couldn't dance with him just then, but her auspicious smile encouraged him to ask again later

Recent Examples on the Web

Since that auspicious start, the choir has performed hundreds of times, including a joint performance in 1991 with a chorus from San Jose’s sister city, Okayama, Japan, and accompanying Barbara Streisand in front of 14,000 people at SAP Center in 2012. —Sal Pizarro, The Mercury News, 15 Dec. 2024

The building is in an auspicious location at 647 Fifth Avenue near 52nd Street, home of the Versace brand for two decades and next door to the Cartier Fifth Avenue Mansion. —Booth Moore, WWD, 11 Dec. 2024

Zendaya is having an auspicious start to this season’s awards race and is thanking her mother for her support. —Jack Smart, People.com, 3 Dec. 2024

It’s been an auspicious year for animation aficionados. —Peter Rainer, The Christian Science Monitor, 27 Nov. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Latin auspicium auspice + -ous

First Known Use

1593, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Podcast

Get Word of the Day delivered to your inbox!

Kids Definition

auspicious

adjective

aus·​pi·​cious ȯ-ˈspish-əs 

1

: promising success : favorable

an auspicious beginning

2

: successful sense 1, prosperous

has been an auspicious year

auspiciously adverb

auspiciousness noun

Etymology

from Latin auspicium "reading the future from the flight of birds" and English -ous (adjective suffix)

Word Origin

In ancient Rome the flight of birds was thought to be a sign from the gods. If a bird swooped down or soared up, it might mean good or bad luck for a person. But only special people were thought to be able to read these signs. Such a person was called in Latin an auspex, meaning literally "bird observer." The word was formed from Latin avis, meaning "bird," and the Latin verb specere, meaning "to see." The art of predicting the future in this way came to be called auspicium. A reading of bird actions was taken each time a person or the state was about to take an important step, such as marriage, a new business, or war. The word was taken into English by borrowing the Latin stem auspici- of auspicium and adding the adjective suffix -ous. Although auspicium could mean either good news or bad news, when auspicious came to be used in English, it was always used of something favorable.