ˌən-ˈfȯrch-nət
1
as in disastrous
bringing about ruin or misfortune
an unfortunate chain of events destroyed the business
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in unhappy
having, prone to, or marked by bad luck
up to that point in her life she had been unfortunate in love
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in tragic
of a kind to cause great distress
an unfortunate choice of words that would later prove to be embarrassing for the talk show host
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of unfortunate
Pittsburgh Steelers kick returner Kaleb Johnson suffered an unfortunate blunder during the team’s game against the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday afternoon.
—
Ryan Gaydos, FOXNews.com, 15 Sep. 2025
As unfortunate as Burrow’s latest setback is for him, his team and the fans, the networks and their streaming cousins shouldn’t lose too much ground during the Bengals’ upcoming media frenzy.
—Anthony Crupi, Sportico.com, 15 Sep. 2025
Its unfortunate operator, however, couldn’t seem to find his target.
—James Parker, The Atlantic, 12 Sep. 2025
Jones virtually had all day to stand in the pocket and pick apart the Dolphins’ secondary, which certainly lacked experience before Storm Duck’s unfortunate ankle injury.
—C. Isaiah Smalls Ii, Miami Herald, 11 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for unfortunate
Ryan Gaydos, FOXNews.com, 15 Sep. 2025
As unfortunate as Burrow’s latest setback is for him, his team and the fans, the networks and their streaming cousins shouldn’t lose too much ground during the Bengals’ upcoming media frenzy.
—Anthony Crupi, Sportico.com, 15 Sep. 2025
Its unfortunate operator, however, couldn’t seem to find his target.
—James Parker, The Atlantic, 12 Sep. 2025
Jones virtually had all day to stand in the pocket and pick apart the Dolphins’ secondary, which certainly lacked experience before Storm Duck’s unfortunate ankle injury.
—C. Isaiah Smalls Ii, Miami Herald, 11 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for unfortunate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for unfortunate
Adjective
-
The effect was disastrous, my hair crimped weirdly, with sections shooting out in different directions like the discordant notes of an orchestra tuning up.—
Rachel Kushner,
New Yorker,
14 Sep. 2025
-
The mid-quarter update offered a glimmer of hope after Six Flags’ disastrous second quarter earnings report in August.—
Brady MacDonald,
Oc Register,
12 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
Kybella can be used as an alternative to surgery for patients who are unhappy with fat under their chin, also known as submental fullness, and have not seen improvement with diet and exercise, according to the manufacturers.—
Alyssa Goldberg,
USA Today,
18 Sep. 2025
-
Folks felt exposed or excluded or some unhappy combination of both.—
Andrew Pasquier,
Them.,
18 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
And these are -- these are very tragic circumstances that impact all of us.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
14 Sep. 2025
-
Before Experience Hendrix After Hendrix’s tragic death, production of the guitarist’s music was in the hands of his allegedly exploitative manager, Michael Jeffery who died in a mysterious 1973 plane crash.—
Mike Alleyne Ph.D,
Forbes.com,
13 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
Prepared Social Feed Posts Automation promises efficiency but can’t accommodate nuance, context or situational changes that a human would change course for (think competitive move, environmental crisis, fatal tragedy, and so on).—
Expert Panel®,
Forbes.com,
17 Sep. 2025
-
Jimmy Kimmel's late-night talk show was suspended indefinitely following the host's comments on the fatal shooting of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.—
Anthony Robledo,
USA Today,
17 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
An unfavorable past Amid the AI race heating up, the United States has banned China from using its most advanced AI products, including NVIDIA’s H100 and H200 chips.—
Atharva Gosavi,
Interesting Engineering,
18 Sep. 2025
-
Sherrill received a 40 percent favorability rating, compared to a 29 percent unfavorable rating.—
Anna Commander,
MSNBC Newsweek,
17 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
This is a potentially catastrophic mistake.—
Ajay Pundhir,
Forbes.com,
17 Sep. 2025
-
Arena aims to provide value by helping companies to avoid catastrophic machine failures and reduce the effort necessary to complete safety and maintenance.—
Aman Kidwai,
MSNBC Newsweek,
17 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Unfortunate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unfortunate. Accessed 20 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share