serendipity
noun
Simple meaning
Finding something good unexpectedly.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
sehruhndipihteeSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
sɛɹənˈdɪpɪti
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
An unsought, unintended or unexpected, but fortunate, discovery or learning experience that occurs by accident.
Good luck in making unexpected and fortunate discoveries
The phenomenon of making an unplanned, fortunate discovery through a combination of unexpected circumstances and insightful recognition.
The occurrence and development of events by chance in a happy or beneficial way.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- B2 · Upper Intermediate (estimated)
- Frequency
- Uncommon
- Typical Use
- Primarily written
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: An unsought, unintended or unexpected, but fortunate, discovery or learning experience that occurs by accident.
Used this way, serendipity is a reasonably familiar word with a clearly warm, approving pull. It suits reflective writing more than quick conversation.
- Emotional tone
- Positive
- Formality
- Slightly formal
- Intensity
- Moderate
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Fortunate or pleasantly unexpected
- Usage feel
- Reflective and slightly elevated
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
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Common Patterns and Combinations
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More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Word Forms
Serendipity · Serendipitous · Serendipitously
Where This Word Comes From
Coined in 1754 by Horace Walpole from the Persian fairy tale 'The Three Princes of Serendip', whose heroes kept making happy discoveries by accident.
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.