¹apropos

adverb ap·ro·pos \ˌa-prə-ˈpō, ˈa-prə-ˌ\

Definition of APROPOS

: at an opportune time : seasonably

: by way of interjection or further comment : with regard to the present topic

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Origin of APROPOS

French à propos, literally, to the purpose

First Known Use: 1668

Related to APROPOS

Synonyms: en passant, incidentally, by the by (or by the bye), by the way, in passing

Rhymes with APROPOS

acid snow, afterglow, aikido, alpenglow, art deco, art nouveau, audio, Baguio, Bamako, barrio, bay window, Bergamo, bibelot, Bilbao, black widow, blow-by-blow, body blow, bone marrow, bordereau, Borneo, bow window, buffalo, Buffalo, bungalow, Bushido, buteo, calico, cameo, cachalot, cembalo, centimo, CEO, chassepot, cheerio, Clemenceau, cogito, comedo, comme il faut, counterflow, Cupid's bow, curaçao, Curaçao, curassow, curio, daimyo, danio, Delano, Diderot, do-si-do, domino, dynamo, embryo, entrepôt, Erato, escargot, Eskimo, extrados, fabliau, folio, French window, fricandeau, furbelow, gigolo, golden glow, go-no-go, grass widow, guacharo, hammer throw, hammertoe, haricot, heel-and-toe, hetero, high and low, HMO, Holy Joe, horror show, Idaho, in a row, indigo, in escrow, in the know, Jericho, kakapo, latigo, little toe, long-ago, Longfellow, Maceió, Maginot, Manchukuo, medico, Mexico, mistletoe, modulo, Monaco, Navajo, NCO, nuncio, oleo, olio, on tiptoe, Oreo, overflow, overgrow, overthrow, ovolo, Pamlico, Papago, paseo, picaro, piccolo, Pierrot, polio, pomelo, pompano, portico, PPO, Prospero, proximo, quid pro quo, radio, raree-show, ratio, Richard Roe, Rochambeau, rococo, rodeo, Romeo, rose window, round window, saddlebow, Sapporo, sapsago, Scapa Flow, Scipio, Scorpio, semipro, show window, sloppy joe, so-and-so, SRO, standing O, status quo, stereo, stop-and-go, studio, subito, tallyho, tangelo, Taranto, tic-tac-toe, TKO, to-and-fro, Tokyo, tombolo, touch-and-go, tournedos, tremolo, tuckahoe, tupelo, UFO, ultimo, undergo, undertow, Veneto, vertigo, vibrio, video, virago, vireo, Zhangjiakou, zydeco

²apropos

adjective ap·ro·pos \ˌa-prə-ˈpō, ˈa-prə-ˌ\

: suitable or appropriate

Full Definition of APROPOS

: being both relevant and opportune <apropos comments>

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Examples of APROPOS

This short yet spacious and powerful book … reminds us of the careful and apropos writing of J.M. Coetzee, W.G. Sebald and Uwe Timm. —Thomas McGuane, New York Times Book Review, 24 June 2007
The late Kenneth Koch's description of Ashbery as “lazy and quick” remains thoroughly apropos; these 61 page-or-two poems can seem brilliantly tossed off, much like those in his 2000 collection, Your Name Here. The title is appropriate too: Chinese Whispers is the British name for the game of Telephone, where children (or adults) gather in a circle and whisper a “secret” word or phrase into the ear next to them. —Publishers Weekly, 19 Aug. 2002
I wore a suit and tie to Christmas Eve dinner, and during dinner we drank toasts to ourselves and our similarly dressed friends, appropriate wine in apropos glasses. Our tree was decorated, most tastefully, with apt baubles bought from Georg Jensen. —Geoffrey Wolff, Granta, Autumn 1990
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Origin of APROPOS

(see ¹apropos)

First Known Use: 1686

Related to APROPOS

Synonyms: applicable, apposite, pertinent, germane, material, pointed, relative, relevant

Antonyms: extraneous, immaterial, impertinent, inapplicable, inapposite, irrelative, irrelevant, pointless

Synonym Discussion of APROPOS

relevant, germane, material, pertinent, apposite, applicable, apropos mean relating to or bearing upon the matter in hand. relevant implies a traceable, significant, logical connection <found material relevant to her case>. germane may additionally imply a fitness for or appropriateness to the situation or occasion <a point not germane to the discussion>. material implies so close a relationship that it cannot be dispensed with without serious alteration of the case <facts material to the investigation>. pertinent stresses a clear and decisive relevance <a pertinent observation>. apposite suggests a felicitous relevance <add an apposite quotation to the definition>. applicable suggests the fitness of bringing a general rule or principle to bear upon a particular case <the rule is not applicable in this case>. apropos suggests being both relevant and opportune <the quip was apropos>.