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Infelicitous

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(pronounced in-fih-lis-ih-tus)  adjective

Definition

1. not felicitous; inappropriate; unsuitable; poorly chosen or timed; ungainly; clumsy.    2. unhappy; unfortunate.

Other Forms

Felicitous (pronounced fih-lis-ih-tus) adjective [Definition: 1. very well suited to the occasion or circumstances; appropriately chosen; well expressed; apt; fitting.   2. displaying a pleasing and appropriate manner, expression, or style.   3. highly pleasing; charming; happy; fortunate.]

Main Example

• While on the stump, Donald Trump has trashed several demographic groups, including women, immigrants, and Muslims, and thus deeply offended tens of millions of Americans. But, soon after Trump became the Republican Party's presumptive nominee, his campaign managers began making reassuring statements to the effect that the billionaire will henceforth be more “presidential.” Hence the following question on many voters' minds: Will the sophomoric and grossly infelicitous comments and gestures that have been Trump's hallmark so far really become a thing of the past?

Workplace Examples

• I thought the phrase Mark used to describe Scott as being someone whose enthusiasm is “always foaming from his mouth” was so apt, so felicitous. You can bet some of us will start using the very same words when describing other people's passion or ardor.
• Among the recent Xerox commercials on TV, some of which are really creative, the one I have enjoyed the most is the one about a female employee making an infelicitous remark about her male boss, and how the color drains from her face when she realizes that he has heard what she said.

Other Examples

• in his popular keynote “Power of the Spoken Word,” this author citing several short stories to illustrate how the use of a fresh word, if it is felicitous, can instantly reshape the audience's thinking and help the speaker achieve his or her purpose, such as stirring people to action, injecting humor, and so on   [Call 281-463-2500 or email V.J. (vjsingal@verbalenergy.com) for more information]
• a colleague saying: “Whenever things become heated during a meeting, Bill is just the fellow to come up with some felicitous analogy or anecdote to break up the tension in the room.”
• the only felicitous feature of a tedious and dull business trip being a chance to visit a nearby resort; a vacation ruined thanks to infelicitous weather
• somebody who is now well-off remembering his infelicitous years when he was unemployed and on food stamps; Ronald Reagan's relatively felicitous life from the time he got over his painful 1948 divorce from Jane Wyman until the onset of Alzheimer's in the early 1990s
• the felicitously named ships of Sir Ernest Shackleton's last two voyages: each name--Endurance and Quest--seemed to predict how the respective expeditions eventually turned out

© 2017 V.J. Singal
No part of this may be reproduced in any form without written permission of the author.

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