as in unfortunate
having, prone to, or marked by bad luck
a hard-luck ball club that never could get the breaks it needed
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of hard-luck
While Michigan State is overwhelmingly likely to clinch the conference regular season title (the Spartans host Penn State this weekend), a sweep by either Ohio State or Minnesota this weekend would wrap up second place, and the right to host hard-luck Notre Dame in round one.
—
Jess Myers, Twin Cities, 20 Feb. 2025
While the Chiefs have been consistently strong, with some remarkable good fortune this season and continued horseshoe following them, the Bills have suffered some severe hard-luck losses including to the Chiefs in the recent playoff years.
—Jay Ginsbach, Forbes, 23 Jan. 2025
And after a hard-luck start to his career, Bateman getting in the end zone has become the ultimate good omen for the Ravens, who will face the Buffalo Bills Sunday night at Highmark Stadium in the AFC divisional round.
—Jeff Zrebiec, The Athletic, 16 Jan. 2025
Ole Miss finished a hard-luck 5-6 with its final five losses coming by one score.
—Scott Dochterman, The Athletic, 15 Jan. 2025
The redshirt freshman stayed away from a stomach bug that plagued the rest of the position group just weeks before the season, which proved to be an ominous sign of things to come for perhaps the most hard-luck unit in the College Football Playoff.
—Cameron Teague Robinson, The Athletic, 31 Dec. 2024
The aftermath: Fister, a hard-luck 12-30 for Seattle, went 32-20 for the Tigers with a 2.98 postseason ERA.
—Tyler Kepner, The Athletic, 26 July 2024
Ticketed, booted, towed — there are a million hard-luck parking enforcement stories in the naked city.
—Mary McNamara, Los Angeles Times, 14 Oct. 2024
His latest album, 2023’s Twenty on High, is a revelatory collection of hard-luck stories and working-class resilience.
—Garret K. Woodward, Rolling Stone, 30 July 2024
Jess Myers, Twin Cities, 20 Feb. 2025
While the Chiefs have been consistently strong, with some remarkable good fortune this season and continued horseshoe following them, the Bills have suffered some severe hard-luck losses including to the Chiefs in the recent playoff years.
—Jay Ginsbach, Forbes, 23 Jan. 2025
And after a hard-luck start to his career, Bateman getting in the end zone has become the ultimate good omen for the Ravens, who will face the Buffalo Bills Sunday night at Highmark Stadium in the AFC divisional round.
—Jeff Zrebiec, The Athletic, 16 Jan. 2025
Ole Miss finished a hard-luck 5-6 with its final five losses coming by one score.
—Scott Dochterman, The Athletic, 15 Jan. 2025
The redshirt freshman stayed away from a stomach bug that plagued the rest of the position group just weeks before the season, which proved to be an ominous sign of things to come for perhaps the most hard-luck unit in the College Football Playoff.
—Cameron Teague Robinson, The Athletic, 31 Dec. 2024
The aftermath: Fister, a hard-luck 12-30 for Seattle, went 32-20 for the Tigers with a 2.98 postseason ERA.
—Tyler Kepner, The Athletic, 26 July 2024
Ticketed, booted, towed — there are a million hard-luck parking enforcement stories in the naked city.
—Mary McNamara, Los Angeles Times, 14 Oct. 2024
His latest album, 2023’s Twenty on High, is a revelatory collection of hard-luck stories and working-class resilience.
—Garret K. Woodward, Rolling Stone, 30 July 2024
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hard-luck
Adjective
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On Monday evening, within hours of learning of the directive, some state workers called the order stupid and unfortunate.—
William Melhado,
Sacramento Bee,
5 Mar. 2025
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Christie suffered from acute seasickness, unfortunate considering her trips to each continent were by ship.—
Nina Metz,
Chicago Tribune,
5 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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Some are unhappy with the people executing his vision for a smaller government. 2️⃣ Soccer showcase: The 2026 World Cup is still more than a year away, but there are already big concerns over whether the host country is ready.—
Daniel Wine,
CNN,
6 Mar. 2025
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Independent distributors are unhappy with the growing percentage of royalty payments for their artists that are too low to be worth processing.—
Bill Rosenblatt,
Forbes,
6 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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In the first, the scrappy Italian American reporter Nick falls for Andy, the earnest, hapless son of a press mogul.—
Olivia Waite,
New York Times,
26 Feb. 2025
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Reliable comedic turns from Rick Hoffman's hapless Louis and Sarah Rafferty's fierce Donna brought a lightness to the show and rounded out the ensemble.—
Eliana Dockterman,
TIME,
23 Feb. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Hard-luck.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hard-luck. Accessed 12 Mar. 2025.
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