Definitions
Etymologies
- Latin fēlīx, fēlīc-, fortunate; see dhē(i)- in Indo-European roots + -fic. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“But either way it is all odd, as if there were some kind of felicific calculus for friendship and one that applies to us all equally, however different our natures.”
“In any felicific calculus, he is unlikely to go down in history as the man who created the greatest happiness for the greatest number.”
The Guardian: An unhappiness index is more David Cameron's style
“The felicific or hedonic valence of these various consequences can be mixed.”
“In that same chapter, he focuses on the felicific tendencies of actions and assigns a significant role to rules within moral reasoning, both of which have been taken to commit him to a rule utilitarian doctrine.”
“First, it was common among the Philosophical Radicals to formulate utilitarianism, as the Proportionality Doctrine does, in terms of the felicific tendencies of actions.”
“Here Bentham clearly ascribes the felicific tendency to action tokens, and he equates an action's felicific tendency with the extent to which it promotes utility.”
“Some stopped at the outset with the felicific calculus, argued that pleasure was an evanescent phenomenon, that it could not be added or summed up.”
“The 'felicific calculus' is enough to show the inadequacy of his method.”
“We have to interpret all the facts in terms of pain or pleasure, and we shall have the materials for what has since been called a 'felicific calculus.”
“We are bound to apply our 'felicific calculus' with absolute impartiality.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘felicific’.
-
More Adjectival Arcana
List of adjectives such as everduring that do not frequent common speech and writing. A continuation of my list Adjectival Arcana, which had grown to over 7700 words and had become far too cumbersome.
transpontine, fetichistic, everduring, tachygraphic, tachygraphical, holographic, holographical, spectrobolographic, autographic, chirographal, autographal, ipsographic and 1419 more...
-
Logolepsy
"Luciferous Logolepsy is a collection of over 9,000 obscure English words. Though the definition of an 'English' word might seem to be straightforward, it is not. There exist so many adopted, deriv...
Anschauung, Areopagus, Argus, Briarean, Dei gratia, Dei judicium, Deo volente, Duecento, Foehn, Geflugelte Worte, Gegenschein, Hakenkreuz and 9230 more...
-
September Words-11337
During the month of September, post at least 10 new words to this list. Make sure you cite where you read the word (book/author/pg) and quote the context/sentence where you found it. If someone has...
flabbergasted, discombobulated, inclination, serendipity, savvy, profound, incarnation, myriad, confiscate, audacity, deciduous, adieu and 79 more...
-
Verba Dilecta
delectable, notate, pauciloquy, paucity, pauciloquent, paucify, interscapilium, uropygium, inferna, nota, equipollent, prepollent and 677 more...
-
timrmortiss's list
compotation, deodand, lignify, obstreperous, noetic, promantia, nostrum, cynosure, sesquipedalian, callipygian, inchoate, hortatory and 93 more...
-
word set 12
plasmasphere, cockatrice, delimitable, precipitancy, trellising, thermochromism, cadenza, tentaculiferous, fluctiferous, circumambient, loblolly, trailing edge and 142 more...
-
artoparts's Words
illation, finite, edify, abide, abrade, vouch, amiss, vociferate, perusing, techantiquery, rigamarole, holon and 615 more...
-
Wordie/Wordnik Curio Cabinet
Oddments culled from my "main" lists that belong in a display cabinet of their own, plus sundry other curiosities. :-)
zeugma, ziggurat, xiphoid, xeric, whizgigging, whangdoodle, viviparous, vivific, vinolent, verjuice, vellicate, velleity and 1193 more...
-
Words
knavery, collation, bloviate, jargon, impugn, arcane, browbeat, vociferous, welter, caveat, consternation, abjure and 43 more...
-
Emotions & Feelings
felicific, felicity, beatific, sanguine, anodyne, doleful, zeal, alacrity, alacritous, tumult, noxious, indurate and 74 more...
-
herotuesday's Words
butyraceous, thrasonical, turgid, ululate, irenic, punctilio, discombobulate, ecdysiast, formicate, favonian, agnate, erubescence and 614 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for felicific.

AllisonSylvester "the felicific puppy made the old woman smile very big"
dictionary.com Sep 30, 2010
palooka "Causing or tending to cause happiness." Dictionary.com Mar 22, 2008