infelicitous

English

WOTD – 7 April 2010

Etymology

From in- +‎ felicitous.

Pronunciation

  • (UK) IPA(key): /ˌɪn.fəˈlɪs.ɪ.təs/, /ˌɪn.fɪˈlɪs.ɪ.təs/, /ˌɪn.fɛlˈɪs.ɪ.təs/
  • (US) IPA(key): /ˌɪn.fəˈlɪs.ɪ.təs/, /ˌɪn.fəˈlɪs.ə.təs/

Adjective

infelicitous (comparative more infelicitous, superlative most infelicitous)

  1. Unhappy or unfortunate.
    • 1973, Bret Harte, "A Boy's Dog" in Mrs. Skaggs's Husbands and Other Sketches:
      If leading a "dog's life" be considered a peculiar phase of human misery, the life of a Boys' Dog is still more infelicitous.
  2. Inappropriate or awkward; not well said, expressed, or done.
    • 1909, William MacLeod Raine, Ridgway of Montana, ch. 24:
      "Now, you've got just grounds for shooting me," he said gaily, and instantly regretted his infelicitous remark.

Synonyms

  • (unhappy): For semantic relationships of this sense, see sad or lamentable in the Thesaurus.
  • (unlucky): For semantic relationships of this sense, see unlucky in the Thesaurus.

Derived terms

Translations

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