1
as in unfortunate
having, prone to, or marked by bad luck
the unlucky campers had rain all week I'm so unlucky I don't bother to play the lottery an unlucky throw of the dice
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2
as in tragic
of a kind to cause great distress
the settlers made the unlucky decision to cross the dangerous mountain pass in the middle of winter
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Recent Examples of unlucky
Here in the present, the Lakers realize their promising season has probably been sabotaged by unlucky injuries.
—
ABC News, 13 Apr. 2026
The number 13 is unlucky for some, but powerful to others.
—Allison Degrushe, Entertainment Weekly, 8 Apr. 2026
From fire irons to swords, guns to clothes airers, Nesbø — who wrote the screenplay himself — finds a myriad ways to dispatch his unlucky victims, a significant number of whom also lose limbs before bleeding out.
—K.j. Yossman, Variety, 27 Mar. 2026
That meant that the higher powers had the authority to enact a punishment on an unlucky criminal postmortem.
—Tara Ramanathan, Encyclopedia Britannica, 25 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for unlucky
ABC News, 13 Apr. 2026
The number 13 is unlucky for some, but powerful to others.
—Allison Degrushe, Entertainment Weekly, 8 Apr. 2026
From fire irons to swords, guns to clothes airers, Nesbø — who wrote the screenplay himself — finds a myriad ways to dispatch his unlucky victims, a significant number of whom also lose limbs before bleeding out.
—K.j. Yossman, Variety, 27 Mar. 2026
That meant that the higher powers had the authority to enact a punishment on an unlucky criminal postmortem.
—Tara Ramanathan, Encyclopedia Britannica, 25 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for unlucky
Recent Examples of Synonyms for unlucky
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
-
Then something tragic takes place.—
David Fear,
Rolling Stone,
30 Apr. 2026
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In 1999, 81 years after the tragic sinking, the crew members of the Tampa were posthumously awarded the Purple Heart.—
Alexandra Koch,
FOXNews.com,
29 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
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
-
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
Cite this Entry
“Unlucky.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unlucky. Accessed 3 May. 2026.
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