Meaning & use
auspicious
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Meanings
adjectivecomparableformal
Giving signs that things will go well in the future; promising.
Grammar: Often before a noun: an auspicious start.
Patterns
- an auspicious start
- an auspicious sign
The team made an auspicious start to the season.
Clear skies were an auspicious sign for the festival.
It was not the most auspicious moment to ask for a raise.
adjectivecomparableformal
Thought, in some cultures, to be lucky or favored by good fortune, especially a date or time.
Grammar: Often used with a day, date or occasion: an auspicious date.
Patterns
- an auspicious day
- an auspicious occasion
Many families choose an auspicious date for the wedding.
The priest named an auspicious time to begin the ceremony.
Red is considered an auspicious color in some traditions.
Word forms
| comparative | more auspicious |
|---|---|
| superlative | most auspicious |
Common combinations
- auspicious start
- The project had an auspicious start.
- auspicious occasion
- The anniversary was an auspicious occasion.
- auspicious beginning
- It was an auspicious beginning to her career.
- auspicious sign
- The early sales were an auspicious sign.
- auspicious day
- They chose an auspicious day for the opening.
Synonyms and how they differ
- promising
- Promising is everyday and neutral, while auspicious is more formal and suggests omens of good fortune.
- propitious
- Propitious is even more formal and stresses that conditions favor success.
- favorable
- Favorable is general and does not suggest a hopeful sign about what comes next.
- lucky
- Lucky depends on chance, whereas auspicious describes signs of future success.
Opposites
Word family
- auspice noun
- a sign or omen, usually in the plural auspices
- auspices noun
- protection or support, as in under the auspices of
- auspiciously adverb
- in a way that suggests success
- inauspicious adjective
- not promising
Commonly confused: auspicious or suspicious? auspicious or auspice?
auspicious vs suspicious
Suspicious means feeling or causing distrust, but auspicious means promising good outcomes.
auspicious vs auspice
Auspices as a noun means support or sponsorship, not a hopeful quality.
Practice
The sunrise on the day of the launch was seen as an ___ sign.
Choose one answer.
Auspicious means hopeful and promising. Suspicious sounds similar but means distrustful, and ominous suggests bad things to come.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “auspicious”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.