infelicitous

C2+ Topic:Describing Qualities

US /ˌɪnfɪˈlɪsɪtəs/ UK /ˌɪnfɪˈlɪsɪtəs/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

adj
not apt or well-chosen; unfortunate in expression

His infelicitous phrasing offended several in the audience.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · not apt or well-chosen;... inapt inappropriate unfortunate awkward unhappyill-chosen

Opposites

felicitous apt appropriate happy

Word family

Derived forms infelicitouslyinfelicity

Related forms felicitous felicity felicitate

Etymology

From in- ('not') + felicitous, from Latin felicitas ('happiness, good fortune'), from felix ('happy, fruitful').

felicitas Latin felix Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing Qualities Word Formation & Derivatives

External links

# infelicitous

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** adj
**IPA (US):** /ˌɪnfɪˈlɪsɪtəs/
**IPA (UK):** /ˌɪnfɪˈlɪsɪtəs/

## Meanings
1. not apt or well-chosen; unfortunate in expression

## Examples
- His infelicitous phrasing offended several in the audience.

## Synonyms
- inapt
- inappropriate
- unfortunate
- awkward
- unhappy
- ill-chosen

## Antonyms
- felicitous
- apt
- appropriate
- happy

## Derived Forms
- infelicitously
- infelicity

## Related Forms
- felicitous
- felicity
- felicitate

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: felicitas
- Root: felix

## Etymology
From in- ('not') + felicitous, from Latin felicitas ('happiness, good fortune'), from felix ('happy, fruitful').

## AI Etymology
Infelicitous comes from in- ('not') + felicitous, from Latin felicitas ('happiness, good fortune'), from felix ('happy, fruitful'). The etymological trail includes Latin felicitas and Latin felix. As an adjective, infelicitous means not apt or well-chosen; unfortunate in expression. The same family is visible in derived forms such as infelicitously and infelicity and related forms such as felicitous, felicity, and felicitate. Morphologically, the word is built from the elements named in its history, so the modern form preserves a visible compound, prefix, or suffix structure.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities
- Word Formation & Derivatives

markdown