opportune
English
Etymology
From Old French opportun, from Latin opportunus.
Pronunciation
- (UK) IPA(key): /ɒ.pəˈt͡ʃ(j)uːn/
Audio (Southern England): (file) - (US) IPA(key): /ˌɑ.pɚˈt͡ʃuːn/, /-tjuːn/
- Hyphenation: op‧por‧tune
Adjective
opportune (comparative more opportune, superlative most opportune)
- Suitable for some particular purpose.
- This would be an opportune spot for a picnic.
- 2005, Michael Weinberger, A Message from Jakie, page 150:
- I staggered to an opportune wall and continued to wail from the deepest, hurtingest, sweetest little abandoned place I could imagine. Finally, I dragged my weary body to my seat and finished my conversation with God.
- At a convenient or advantageous time.
- The opportune arrival of the bus cut short the boring conversation.
- 2007 February 20, Chris Chibnall, Life on Mars, Season 2, Episode 2:
- Sam Tyler: Well, our first priority is to make sure the thieves don't strike again. It'll be tricky, 'cause these sorts of gangs rarely have just one target on the go. They've usually researched half a dozen possibilities, waiting for the most opportune circumstances on any of them.
Harry Woolf: He knows his onions, this lad, eh?
Gene Hunt: Oh, he's a right little smart-arse. So, what do you suggest, Buddha?
Synonyms
- (suitable): appropriate, proper; see also Thesaurus:suitable
- (convenient time): seasonable, timesome; see also Thesaurus:timely
Antonyms
- (antonym(s) of “suitable”): inappropriate, inopportune, improper; see also Thesaurus:unsuitable
- (antonym(s) of “convenient time”): inopportune, unseasonable, untime; see also Thesaurus:untimely
Related terms
Translations
suitable
|
at a convenient time
|
Danish
Adjective
opportune
French
Adjective
opportune
- feminine singular of opportun
Italian
Adjective
opportune f pl
- feminine plural of opportuno
Latin
Etymology 1
Adverb
opportūnē (comparative opportūnius, superlative opportūnissimē)
Etymology 2
Adjective
opportūne
- vocative masculine singular of opportūnus
References
- “opportune”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
- “opportune”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
- opportune in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.