as in unfortunate
having, prone to, or marked by bad luck
a hard-luck ball club that never could get the breaks it needed
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of hard-luck
Every small room sans closet in New York City requires a stand-alone alternative for surviving a hard-luck storage situation, and even ample hallways can benefit from a dignified wardrobe cabinet as a way to punctuate large spaces.
—
Julia Harrison, Architectural Digest, 17 Mar. 2026
Not after just two injury-riddled, hard-luck seasons.
—Los Angeles Times, 9 Mar. 2026
Pratt offers no prototypical hard-luck origin story.
—Gary Baum, HollywoodReporter, 11 Feb. 2026
Slot bemoaned the fine margins but there have been far too many hard-luck stories.
—James Pearce, New York Times, 9 Feb. 2026
Burford has stepped in nicely for hard-luck left guard Ben Bartch.
—Jerry McDonald, Mercury News, 20 Dec. 2025
The latter more than held his own, though, allowing four hits and three runs across 6 2/3 innings before leaving as the hard-luck loser.
—Joe Kozlowski, MSNBC Newsweek, 31 Oct. 2025
The two formerly hard-luck performers, each previously divorced with children, blended their families and achieved enough professional success to open for Pearl Jam and Eddie Vedder in Milwaukee.
—Bryan Alexander, USA Today, 27 Oct. 2025
Mikolas suffered a hard-luck setback in his lone meeting with Milwaukee this season.
—Field Level Media, Reuters, 14 Sep. 2025
Julia Harrison, Architectural Digest, 17 Mar. 2026
Not after just two injury-riddled, hard-luck seasons.
—Los Angeles Times, 9 Mar. 2026
Pratt offers no prototypical hard-luck origin story.
—Gary Baum, HollywoodReporter, 11 Feb. 2026
Slot bemoaned the fine margins but there have been far too many hard-luck stories.
—James Pearce, New York Times, 9 Feb. 2026
Burford has stepped in nicely for hard-luck left guard Ben Bartch.
—Jerry McDonald, Mercury News, 20 Dec. 2025
The latter more than held his own, though, allowing four hits and three runs across 6 2/3 innings before leaving as the hard-luck loser.
—Joe Kozlowski, MSNBC Newsweek, 31 Oct. 2025
The two formerly hard-luck performers, each previously divorced with children, blended their families and achieved enough professional success to open for Pearl Jam and Eddie Vedder in Milwaukee.
—Bryan Alexander, USA Today, 27 Oct. 2025
Mikolas suffered a hard-luck setback in his lone meeting with Milwaukee this season.
—Field Level Media, Reuters, 14 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hard-luck
Adjective
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The Russian ambassador to Libya hung out in my room, as did a Russian kid named Konstantin with an unfortunate stutter and endearing affection for the American rock band Metallica.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
3 Apr. 2026
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The film is a Hulu release, continuing the rather unfortunate trend of comedy no longer being the box office powerhouse it once was.—
Brian Davids,
HollywoodReporter,
3 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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The 28-year-old receiver is reportedly unhappy with his situation in Philadelphia, despite winning a Super Bowl a little over a year ago.—
Andrew Callahan,
Boston Herald,
30 Mar. 2026
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But there may be an answer, or at least a compromise that will satisfy those unhappy with the idea of destroying a usable building.—
Miami Herald Archives,
Miami Herald,
27 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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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
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The hapless Washington Wizards visit Kaseya Center on Saturday hoping to preserve their 14% odds of securing the top pick in next month’s draft lottery.—
Barry Jackson,
Miami Herald,
3 Apr. 2026
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Unlike that film, The Drama, which is distributed by A24, isn’t necessarily trying to lampoon a hapless character who deserves our ire.—
Jason P. Frank,
Vulture,
31 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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Trailing by three after a disastrous first period, the Sharks got goals from Nick Leddy and Macklin Celebrini in the second period, and a nifty third-period goal from Alex Wennberg to tie the game and bring the capacity crowd at SAP Center to life.—
Curtis Pashelka,
Mercury News,
5 Apr. 2026
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The regular sight of US citizens paraded in Iran was disastrous for former President Jimmy Carter.—
Sophie Tanno,
CNN Money,
5 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Hard-luck.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hard-luck. Accessed 6 Apr. 2026.
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