Basic Details
Word: Fortune
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: Luck, good or bad, that affects what happens to you; also a very large amount of money.
Synonyms: luck, chance, wealth, riches
Antonyms: misfortune, poverty
How to Spell Fortune
Syllables: for - tune
Tricky part: The second part sounds like chun but is written tune. Students write forchune or fortun.
Watch out for: forchune, fortun, fourtune
Memory tip: There is a tune inside fortune: for + tune, a song for good luck.
Idioms and Phrases
- cost a fortune: To be very expensive. Example: "The new school shoes cost a fortune, so look after them."
- seek your fortune: To go somewhere new hoping to become rich or successful. Example: "In the folk tale, the youngest son leaves the village to seek his fortune."
Usage Examples
Example 1: By good fortune, we found the last two seats on the train to Goa.
Example 2: The trader made a fortune by selling saffron from Kashmir.
Example 3: My little sister believes the parrot outside the temple can tell her fortune.
Fun Fact
Fortune cookies, with a slip of paper holding a saying, are linked with China in most people's minds, but historians think they started in Japan and became popular in the United States.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Cookie
Find the misspelt word in the sentence:
After years of hard work in the Gulf, my neighbour came home with a small forchune and opened a bakery near the bus stand.
a) forchune
b) neighbour
c) bakery
d) opened
Show answer
a) forchune. The ch sound in fortune is written with a t, as in picture and nature.
Word Connection
Choose the synonym of the word fortune as used in the sentence:
By sheer fortune, the lost puppy wandered into the very street where its owner lived.
a) skill
b) effort
c) planning
d) luck
Show answer
d) luck. Nobody planned it; the puppy got home by luck.
Mingle-Mangle
Unjumble the word in the sentence and choose it:
The farmer's eunotfr changed overnight when oil was found under his fields.
a) fourteen
b) fortune
c) future
d) frontier
Show answer
b) fortune. Seven letters with one u and no i: future is too short, fourteen and frontier have the wrong letters.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Which of these is a meaning of fortune?
a) a large amount of money
b) a kind of tropical fruit
c) a type of musical tune
d) a small fort on a hill
Show answer
a) a large amount of money
2. In 'The team's fortunes changed after the new coach arrived', fortunes means ____.
a) ticket prices
b) luck and success
c) home ground
d) number of fans
Show answer
b) luck and success
