Definition

Not favorable or likely to lead to success; often used to describe situations or conditions that are not promising.

Example

The weather was unpropitious for our picnic, so we decided to stay indoors.

Conversation

I heard you had a tough day at work yesterday.

Yeah, it was just an unpropitious time for a big project deadline.

That sounds frustrating! What happened exactly?

We had so many unexpected issues pop up right before the submission.

Synonyms & Antonyms

Root Explanation

Unpropitious → It is formed from "un-" (meaning not) and "propitius" (from Latin, meaning favorable or advantageous). The word "unpropitious" means not favorable or not advantageous, indicating an unfavorable condition or situation.

Memory Tip

Think of 'not' ('un-') being combined with 'favorable' ('propitius') to remember that 'unpropitious' describes something that is not favorable.

Visually Confused Words