5 ms·

Can you define the difference (Serious question)?

• mrwh 5y ago
  My sense of the distinction: luck is rare. Not everyone can be lucky, by definition. Fortune doesn't have the property. For example, one could say that everyone who grows up in a liberal democracy is fortunate. Something which requires luck to achieve is by definition unachievable by most. Something which requires good fortune could, in a better world, be had by all.
  • DeathArrow 5y ago
    >Not everyone can be lucky, by definition. That's true only for people who play the same game, the same time. But life is a series of countless games, so both the law of probabilities and observation of people around make me think that nobody can be unlucky forever. Having luck and taking advantage of that luck are different things.
• deleted 5y ago
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• BurningFrog 5y ago
  To me "lucky" means something good happened by dumb luck, while "fortunate" means something good happened for any reason. Winning the lottery is both lucky and fortunate, while winning Wimbledon is only fortunate. Not sure how much the dictionaries agree.