UNLUCKY Synonyms: 96 Similar and Opposite Words

unlucky

adjective

ˌən-ˈlə-kē

Definition of unlucky

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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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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 unlucky Of course, another team might have been luckier, or less unlucky, in any number of ways. — Louisa Thomas, New Yorker, 2 July 2026 Microgastrinae adults lay their eggs inside unlucky caterpillars. — Jeffrey Kluger, Time, 29 June 2026 Laurie Whitwell Were South Africa unlucky after defiant defensive display? — Laurie Whitwell, New York Times, 28 June 2026 The unlucky team became Iran, which because of the even outcome fell off the list of third-place teams advancing to the Round of 32. — Blair Kerkhoff, Kansas City Star, 27 June 2026 See All Example Sentences for unlucky

Recent Examples of Synonyms for unlucky

Adjective

For many women, painful periods are treated as an unfortunate but normal part of life.

— Daryl Austin, USA Today, 7 July 2026
Instead, the meddling radiated corruption over due process of an unfortunate but longstanding rule that has remedies seldom invoked in the middle of the World Cup.

— Vahe Gregorian July 7, Kansas City Star, 7 July 2026

Definition of unfortunate

Adjective

Anything tragic that happened to minorities was inevitable and necessary.

— Gustavo Arellano, Los Angeles Times, 4 July 2026
Titled ‘Forever 20′, it has been placed on 97 Avenue, close to the stadium’s Main Stand, on the eve of the first anniversary of their tragic passing in a car crash in Spain last July.

— James Pearce, New York Times, 2 July 2026

Definition of tragic

Adjective

Last year, researchers at Harvard University and Baylor University discovered that, on average, young adults aged between 18 to 29 are deeply unhappy.

— Emma Burleigh, Fortune, 9 July 2026
Licensed cannabis operators in states that have legalized marijuana tend to support the ban—they’re unhappy that hemp intoxicants face far less regulation and taxation than their products.

— Peter Su, Forbes.com, 8 July 2026

Definition of unhappy

Adjective

The one in which his tiny team of negotiators surrendered to the radicals ruling that luckless nation.

— Kevin Rennie, Hartford Courant, 20 June 2026
Any one of those locations could have allowed the heat of reentry to burn through the aluminum alloy walls of the spacecraft, killing any luckless crew that may have been inside, in much the kind of reentry breakup that doomed the shuttle Columbia and its seven-person crew in 2003.

— Jeffrey Kluger, Time, 11 Apr. 2026

Definition of luckless

Browse Nearby Words

unluckiness

unlucky

unlyrical

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“Unlucky.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unlucky. Accessed 10 Jul. 2026.

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Synonyms of unlucky

adjective

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