as in unhappy
having, prone to, or marked by bad luck
Romeo and Juliet are among literature's most famous star-crossed lovers
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Recent Examples of star-crossed
The legacy of nuclear propulsion is deep and star-crossed.
—
David W. Brown, Scientific American, 31 Mar. 2026
The star-crossed extra twist, of course, was that only days after the national-title game the rules changed to allow the dunk again.
—Kansas City Star, 28 Mar. 2026
The best bet is that SpaceX proves a scientific triumph, and star-crossed as an stock.
—Shawn Tully, Fortune, 8 Mar. 2026
Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie lead the series as the star-crossed, puck-smashing Shane Hollander and Ilya Rosanov.
—Mekishana Pierre, Entertainment Weekly, 26 Feb. 2026
Yes, Netflix's Regency-era romance drama (Season 4 Part 1 now streaming) has returned for a new year of lustful glances, hopelessly star-crossed lovers and absolutely absurd balls for a fourth go-round, this time with a story all about the second Bridgerton son, Benedict (Luke Thompson).
—Kelly Lawler, USA Today, 29 Jan. 2026
The Vikings have begun a new year with yet another quarterback quandary, a familiar scenario for this star-crossed franchise.
—CBS News, 6 Jan. 2026
The sweeping romance set across three decades of passion, loss, and hope in Beirut stars Hassan Akil and Mounia Akl as Nino and Yasmina, star-crossed lovers bound by a magnetic relationship, one an eternal optimist and the other an impulsive pragmatist.
—Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 4 Nov. 2025
Meanwhile, star-crossed lovers Ellen (Harriet Slater) and Brian (Jamie Roy) managed to plot an escape of their own — but not before getting some major blood on their hands.
—Max Gao, HollywoodReporter, 13 Oct. 2025
David W. Brown, Scientific American, 31 Mar. 2026
The star-crossed extra twist, of course, was that only days after the national-title game the rules changed to allow the dunk again.
—Kansas City Star, 28 Mar. 2026
The best bet is that SpaceX proves a scientific triumph, and star-crossed as an stock.
—Shawn Tully, Fortune, 8 Mar. 2026
Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie lead the series as the star-crossed, puck-smashing Shane Hollander and Ilya Rosanov.
—Mekishana Pierre, Entertainment Weekly, 26 Feb. 2026
Yes, Netflix's Regency-era romance drama (Season 4 Part 1 now streaming) has returned for a new year of lustful glances, hopelessly star-crossed lovers and absolutely absurd balls for a fourth go-round, this time with a story all about the second Bridgerton son, Benedict (Luke Thompson).
—Kelly Lawler, USA Today, 29 Jan. 2026
The Vikings have begun a new year with yet another quarterback quandary, a familiar scenario for this star-crossed franchise.
—CBS News, 6 Jan. 2026
The sweeping romance set across three decades of passion, loss, and hope in Beirut stars Hassan Akil and Mounia Akl as Nino and Yasmina, star-crossed lovers bound by a magnetic relationship, one an eternal optimist and the other an impulsive pragmatist.
—Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 4 Nov. 2025
Meanwhile, star-crossed lovers Ellen (Harriet Slater) and Brian (Jamie Roy) managed to plot an escape of their own — but not before getting some major blood on their hands.
—Max Gao, HollywoodReporter, 13 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for star-crossed
Adjective
-
Alex Cora was clearly unhappy towards the end.—
Zach Dean OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
27 Apr. 2026
-
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
-
But, yeah, that would be unfortunate.—
Ricky Sayer,
CBS News,
2 May 2026
-
In this unfortunate category, Amazon’s new feature for generating mini-podcast segments that shill for products on its shopping platform really takes the cake.—
Frank Landymore,
Futurism,
30 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
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
Adjective
-
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
-
Bernthal, who plays Sonny, has his own wayward machismo and hapless sensitivity, the very qualities that made Al Pacino unforgettable in the role of the bungling bandit with a Catholic conscience.—
Theater Critic,
Los Angeles Times,
29 Apr. 2026
-
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
Adjective
-
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
Adjective
-
More recently, Nvidia's doomed effort to acquire the British chip designer Arm Holdings encountered regulatory scrutiny across multiple jurisdictions, including China, before collapsing under the weight of geopolitical and competition concerns.—
Dewardric L. McNeal,
CNBC,
28 Apr. 2026
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Continue reading … THAT SETTLES IT — Archaeologists crack 'Spanish Roanoke' mystery with haunting find from doomed colony.—
,
FOXNews.com,
27 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Star-crossed.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/star-crossed. Accessed 3 May. 2026.
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