as in unfortunate
having, prone to, or marked by bad luck
a luckless team with the worst record in the league
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Recent Examples of luckless
Vasyanovych plays Roman, a luckless director who’s out of work and trying to shoot his latest film in a country whose dwindling population is still traumatized by the war.
—
Christopher Vourlias, Variety, 6 Sep. 2025
Christopher Vourlias, Variety, 6 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for luckless
Adjective
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Even before the president set off this unfortunate round of gerrymandering, Democratic states such as New York and Illinois were already heavily gerrymandered.—
Colin Pascal,
Baltimore Sun,
25 Apr. 2026
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He’s beaten by thugs with a crowbar for an unfortunate outburst, exploited by neighbors in the council estate and arrested, all because people don’t understand Tourette syndrome.—
Katie Walsh,
Boston Herald,
24 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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Alex Cora was clearly unhappy towards the end.—
Zach Dean OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
27 Apr. 2026
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There were thousands of unhappy Stagecoach festivalgoers on Saturday night, as the approximately 75,000-80,000 guests were forced to evacuate due to high winds.—
Emily Longeretta,
Variety,
26 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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At one point, the crew shot a scene in which Whalen’s character joins a bar fight, shouting invectives at a hapless extra before pummelling him to the ground.—
Chang Che,
New Yorker,
25 Apr. 2026
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This choice entangles Iris with Geoff and his father, a kind of archivist for a shadowy secret society, and a hapless man.—
John Warner,
Chicago Tribune,
25 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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After last year’s disastrous Eaton fire, Southern California Edison executives vowed to be transparent about what caused the inferno that killed at least 19 people and left thousands of families homeless in Altadena.—
Melody Petersen,
Los Angeles Times,
26 Apr. 2026
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Sturm then gave Swayman the mercy pull, which frankly could have happened after the disastrous first.—
Stephen Conroy,
Hartford Courant,
26 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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That propensity for drama continued right up to the game’s last seconds, Stones’ predatory finish ensuring there would not be an unlucky 13th change at the top of the table, much to the relief of York boss Maynard.—
Richard Sutcliffe,
New York Times,
26 Apr. 2026
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The details police have released thus far describe a series of unlucky coincidences for Mullins, who appeared to have been caught off-guard and specifically targeted by his killer.—
Nate Gartrell,
Mercury News,
24 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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Whether Rochdale are destined to join the list of hard-luck stories among the National League runners-up who fail to go up despite finishing well clear of the field, only the next couple of weeks will tell.—
Richard Sutcliffe,
New York Times,
26 Apr. 2026
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For Coronado, the hard-luck loser was freshman Quinn Smock, who pitched six innings, allowed one unearned run on three hits and struck out seven.—
Don Norcross,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
24 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Luckless.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/luckless. Accessed 1 May. 2026.
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