fortune

/ˈfɔrtʃən/

/ˈfɔtʃun/

Other forms: fortunes

A fortune can be a large amount of money, and fortune is a form of fate. So you want to have the good fortune to make a fortune during your career.

Fortuna was the Roman goddess of fate and luck. She was sometimes depicted with a wheel, and the random spinning of her "wheel of fortune" became a symbol for the unpredictability of fate (and, much later, the title of a popular game show). A fortune teller can look into her crystal ball or tarot cards and predict your future. But her predictions are probably about as accurate as the "prophecy" that comes inside your fortune cookie.

Definitions of fortune

1. noun

   your overall circumstances or condition in life (including everything that happens to you)
   “whatever my fortune may be”

   synonyms: circumstances, destiny, fate, lot, luck, portion

   types:

   good fortune, good luck, luckiness

   an auspicious state resulting from favorable outcomes

   providence

   a manifestation of God's foresightful care for his creatures

   bad luck, ill luck, misfortune, tough luck

   an unfortunate state resulting from unfavorable outcomes

   failure

   lack of success

   prosperity, successfulness

   the condition of prospering; having good fortune

   blessing, boon

   a desirable state

   weakness

   the condition of being financially weak

   adversity, hard knocks, hardship

   a state of misfortune or affliction

   gutter, sewer, toilet

   a state of misfortune resulting in lost effort or money

   hard cheese

   bad luck

   bankruptcy

   a state of complete lack of some abstract property

   bank failure

   the inability of a bank to meet its credit obligations

   crop failure

   the failure of crops to produce a marketable surplus

   dead duck

   something doomed to failure

   type of:

   condition

   a mode of being or form of existence of a person or thing
2. noun

   an unknown and unpredictable phenomenon that causes an event to result one way rather than another
   synonyms: chance, hazard, luck

   types:

   bad luck, mischance, mishap

   an unpredictable outcome that is unfortunate

   even chance, toss-up, tossup

   an unpredictable phenomenon

   type of:

   phenomenon

   any state or process known through the senses rather than by intuition or reasoning
3. noun

   an unknown and unpredictable phenomenon that leads to a favorable outcome
   “it was as if fortune guided his hand”

   synonyms: luck

   types:

   fluke, good fortune, good luck

   a stroke of luck

   serendipity

   good luck in making unexpected and fortunate discoveries

   type of:

   phenomenon

   any state or process known through the senses rather than by intuition or reasoning
4. noun

   a large amount of wealth or prosperity
   type of:

   hoarded wealth, treasure

   accumulated wealth in the form of money or jewels etc.