Funesto

Funesto is an adjective used in Romance languages, most commonly Spanish, to describe something deadly, harmful, or disastrously unfortunate, or something ominous in character. In Spanish it applies to events, outcomes, or persons connected with death or calamity, and it often carries a formal or literary tone. Phrases such as un día funesto or un suceso funesto illustrate its use; metaphorical senses of misfortune or grim atmosphere are common in literature and journalism.

Etymology: funesto comes from Latin funestus 'deadly, destructive', from funus 'funeral, death', and entered the Romance languages with the sense of causing death or misfortune. The term passed into Italian and Portuguese with similar meanings.

In Italian, funesto can describe ill-omened situations, as in giornata funesta. In Portuguese it retains the sense of harm or fatality, though nefasto or calamitoso may be preferred in some contexts.

Synonyms include fatal, nefasta/nefasto, calamitoso, ominoso; antonyms include afortunado or beneficioso. In modern Spanish it remains relatively formal or literary and is less common in casual speech.

See also: ominous, tragedy, misfortune.