Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- adj. Being at once opportune and to the point. See Synonyms at relevant.
- adv. At an appropriate time; opportunely.
- adv. By the way; incidentally: Apropos, where were you yesterday?
- prep. With regard to; concerning: Apropos our date for lunch, I can't go.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- . To the purpose; opportunely; seasonably.
- 2. With reference or regard; in respect: followed by of.
- . With reference to that (a thing just mentioned); by the way: used absolutely, to introduce an incidental observation.
- Opportune; seasonable; to the purpose; pertinent; happy: as, an apropos remark.
- n. Pertinency.
Wiktionary
- adj. Of an appropriate or pertinent nature.
- adj. by the way, incidental.
- prep. Regarding or concerning.
- adv. By the way.
- adv. Timely; at a good time.
GNU Webster's 1913
- Opportunely or opportune; seasonably or seasonable.
- By the way; to the purpose; suitably to the place or subject; -- a word used to introduce an incidental observation, suited to the occasion, though not strictly belonging to the narration.
WordNet 3.0
- adj. of an appropriate or pertinent nature
- adv. at an opportune time
- adv. introducing a different topic; in point of fact
Etymologies
- French à propos ("on that subject") (Wiktionary)
- French à propos : à, to (from Old French a, from Latin ad-; see ad-) + propos, purpose (from Latin prōpositum, neuter past participle of prōpōnere, to intend; see propose). (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“Great tip for beginners and terminal hackers alike, and apropos is installed on a wide number of Linux distros and other terminals.”
Use Apropos to Learn New Terminal Commands | Lifehacker Australia
“Writing upon the subject in which he was interested, in the midst of his family, he would pause, pen in hand, to laugh at some jest or say a word apropos of the question under discussion, and return in an instant to his work.”
Recollections of a Virginian in the Mexican, Indian, and Civil wars,
“Imagine being Thief of Bagdad, title apropos to these times, as a Chinese American at Graumann's Chinese Theatre, then in its Chinarama phase, chock-a-block with faux orientalism, a chinkee apocalypse in plastic and red paper.”
“If, for instance, you knew you had a video encoder handy but didn’t quite know how to get at it, type in apropos mpeg and you’ll get a list of commands and programs that have the words “mpeg” in their man, or manual, files.”
Use Apropos to Learn New Terminal Commands | Lifehacker Australia
“A final word apropos of post-pop museology: Although this show has just opened, the first edition of the exhibition catalog has already sold out, which proves that an historical show rich in cultural implication can draw people to its concerns.”
“That's what I get for second-guessing my initial choice of "apropos".”
“Nothing could be more "apropos" to quote Walter's expression.”
“I once had a boss who thought that "apropos" was an exact synonym for "appropriate" - e.g.,”
“PS in French, the club would be the Con d'Or, which has an entirely different, yet somewhat apropos, meaning.”
“I think "apropos" and "man - k" are the same thing -- so we're on the same track.”
Linux Journal - The Original Magazine of the Linux Community
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘apropos’.
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Iaan
dirigisme, dystopia, cacotopia, ex ante, veritable, indefatigable, curmudgeon, desultory, antediluvian, transmogrify, pendent, elongate and 269 more...
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501
Classic
aberration, abstruse, anomaly, assiduous, august, banal, boisterous, dulcet, epitome, impudent, insolent, mellifluous and 401 more...
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GRE Barron's 800
abate, abdicate, aberrant, abeyance, abject, abjure, abscission, abscond, abstemious, abstinence, abysmal, accretion and 787 more...
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Interesting words
A list of words that are odd or words that I have looked up.
concupiscence, brize, scree, scoria, forestaff, spanaemia, valetudinarianism, distasture, pyrethrum, laudanum, gentian, bicameral and 11184 more...
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501
Classic
abhor, mirth, obtuse, iota, vex, irk, teem, pith, moot, mete, ire, bane and 401 more...
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501
Classic
irk, teem, blight, pith, moot, mete, ire, bane, bilk, boor, elan, ado and 401 more...
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501
Classic
aberration, abstruse, anomaly, assiduous, august, banal, boisterous, dulcet, epitome, impudent, insolent, mellifluous and 401 more...
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Words build meanings from origins( et...
These come from gamma meditation ,I think.
discursive, exogenous, machinations, purportedly, sumptuous, congruity, cantankerous, incongruous, festoon, hessian, ratiocinative, stratigraphic and 2046 more...
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GRE
predilection, explicit, appeal, supplication, appealing, enchanting, ovation, pertinent, apropos, opportunely, applicable, germane and 381 more...
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Tricky Words from French
Loanwords from French -- both established and wet behind the ears -- that are tricky to spell or pronounce properly.
trompe l'oeil, hors d'oeuvre, oeuvre, objet d'art, objet trouvé, contretemps, milieu, métier, mise en scène, mise en place, éclat, faineant and 64 more...
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Fancy Foreign Words
de facto, Zeitgeist, schadenfreude, apropos, per se, Auteur, tookus, de rigueur, xyst, arrivederci, sotto, troika and 14 more...
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Choi inspired
Fun words my friend loves and others I introduced to him.
Namby-pamby, Niminy piminy, Nitpick, Nit-wit, Piggly-wiggly, Ping-pong, Pitter-patter, Raggle-taggle, Riff-raff, zoot suit, zig-zag, wishy-washy and 73 more...
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GRE 3500
abase, abash, abate, aberrant, abeyance, abjure, ablution, abut, accede, accentuate, acerbity, acetic and 133 more...
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GRE Words
abjure, unswear, state, rescission, indemnification, ab, reny, abnegate, vitiated, vitiate, adumbrated, abash and 378 more...
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Words I Know
List of most of the words I've learned
garner, abase, abate, abdicate, abduct, aberration, abet, abhor, abide, abject, abjure, abnegation and 1046 more...
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Faves
nepenthe, cupidity, anodyne, obdurate, doleful, obsolescent, quale, piquant, velleity, inchoate, disport, facile and 366 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for apropos.
Noelle Knight I could hardly say, "are screwing," however apropos it might be. -Charlaine Harris, Living Dead in Dallas Dec 10, 2010
uselessness Oh come on, it wouldn't really be foreign if it didn't have silent letters! ;-) Feb 11, 2007
quotato and, what is that last letter s for? Feb 10, 2007
uselessness Foreign words and phrases are not apropos. Jan 25, 2007